She brushed his arm slowly and deliberately before settling into his lap. His whole body tensed, and she knew this kind of intimacy was foreign to him—so foreign that he nearly jumped. Still, he persisted, squeezing his eyes shut, a decision he'd made the moment she began dancing seductively a minute earlier. He refused to look at her nearly naked body. But his resistance only made her want to tease him more, tempt him more, until finally he would look at her with those deep, charcoal eyes she had only seen once before this encounter.
"Look at me," she whispered, cupping his cheek and trying to turn his face toward hers. Yet still, he resisted.
"What a wild beast," she thought, almost aggravated—but also challenged. How was she supposed to tame a man who had pledged his life to serve the Lord?
She ground provocatively on his lap, and a smirk curved her lips when a small, restrained moan escaped him. His veins surfaced, his body tensed, his breathing quickened, and his heartbeat pounded loudly—too loudly to ignore. His body was responding to the pleasure she was giving him. And of course, there was the bulge beneath her.
Caressing his defined cheekbone and sliding her hand down to his neck—which hardened beneath her warm touch—she leaned in until her lips brushed against his left ear. When she spoke, her breath sent a shiver through him.
"You're…" she whispered. "…hard."
His eyes finally fluttered open, meeting her peanut-shaped eyes behind the blue contact lenses she'd put on just before agreeing to this event. His night-colored eyes now reflected horror, confirming her words.
She knew seducing this man was a heinous crime. She knew tempting him would send her straight to hell. She knew wanting him was probably the greatest mistake she would ever make among the many she already had.
But who could stop her? How could she resist seducing this alluring man who, in only a few months, would become a priest devoted to his God?
7 Days Ago…
At Matulo International Airport in 2012, a day before Christmas, a young man stepped out with a smile as the warmth of home greeted him.
"Brad!" a deep voice called, and he immediately spotted its owner—his cousin Evans, standing tall in the crowd, chest out and muscular arms on display. Wearing a tight white shirt stretched across his build, Evans made Bradley grin—especially because nearly all his cousins wore the same outfit. They looked like movie goons, only dressed in white instead of black.
Akonya men were known for being tall and well-built, a trait passed down the family line. And Bradley was no exception.
"Hey!" Bradley ran to the waiting area and hugged them one by one as they slapped his back.
"Still the gay in the family, huh?" Bethwel teased, giving him a high-five and grabbing his suitcase. They all laughed, remembering the old joke that among them, only Bradley remained what they teased as "pure."
"Or maybe you already found some pretty lass outside the city…" someone chimed in, and they burst into more laughter, drawing curious and amused looks from spectators. With their looks alone, they didn't have to try hard to turn heads.
Bradley smiled politely, though he personally disliked such jokes. He believed women deserved respect.
"Bradley!" a familiar shriek cut through the noise. Their laughter died down as Dan Kaparo, his childhood friend, emerged from the entrance.
"Another gay arrives," Alex whistled playfully. Bradley nearly doubled over laughing when he noticed the huge banner Dan held above his head—a tarpaulin of Bradley's face from two years ago, printed boldly with:
WELCOME HOME
BRADLEY AKONYA – THE GAY IN AKONYA BLOODLINE!
"You're still late as always, bro," Brad said, tapping his friend's back. But Dan seemed to have missed him too much and pulled him into a tight hug. His cousins reacted with exaggerated "yuks" and "iwws," mimicking women's voices.
Neither Brad nor Dan cared.
"And still the most beautiful man," Dan added, making them both laugh again. When they separated, their companions eyed them suspiciously—fake suspicion, of course. Everyone knew the deep bond between the two. They were born on the same day, in the same place—an unbelievable coincidence.
"We're making a scene here. We should get out of here," Dan said. Only then did Brad notice how many people were staring at them.
"You nailed it, man!" Evans said, fist-bumping Dan as they began walking away from the crowd. Some people even took photos. Not surprising. The Akonya family was one of the most powerful and influential in Migingo City; only a handful didn't know them.
Five tall, tanned, handsome men walked proudly out of the airport, capturing not just eyes but hearts along the way. They were a breathtaking sight—
well, all except Dan.
Unlike the Akonya men, Dan was their opposite. They were masculine to the core; he was not. Not that he wasn't attractive—he'd bragged about his beauty for years—but he disliked his feminine charm, pale skin, and slender figure.
"But who cares? I'm still the most beautiful man," he thought, grinning to himself.
Bradley, walking in the middle between them, couldn't suppress his excitement when they finally stepped outside. He inhaled deeply. Despite the season being cold elsewhere, Migingo City was always hot. Being an island made the weather perfect for living—and for him, perfect for home.
The bustling island city welcomed him once more. Migingo City, the City on an Island, had always captured his heart.
"Wait for us, Brad! You might get lost!" Bethwel shouted, grinning.
Brad only then realized he had walked ahead of them, nearly skipping. When he stopped and turned, he saw their smiles and returned one of his signature smirks.
"Good. I'm home again," he sighed with relief.
But would he be able to say it again soon?
Not when the wicked plan his cousins had prepared for him was already set in motion.
He didn't sense the danger behind their grins.
"Aren't they hot fellas?" Yvette almost jumped when Miriam whispered too close to her ear, tickling and startling her.
She set her phone on the small table and continued brushing her long black hair in front of the rectangular mirror attached to her mahogany dresser. The vintage piece had lost its beauty over time; dirt smudged the glass, and spiderwebs clung to the corners.
"They're the Akonya men," Miriam continued. "Filthy rich, handsome bachelors—famous all over the city. They have millions of followers on Instagram, and of course I'm one of them! You know what, Yvette? You know—"
"You know what, Miriam?" Yvette interrupted, raising an eyebrow at her reflection. "If I were you, I'd scrub that pile of makeup off my face and shower at least once a day. You know why Tom cheated on you? Because you stink like a pig."
Miriam, though she knew it was a joke, rolled her eyes and stomped out of the room.
But Yvette didn't mean it as a joke; it was simply the quickest way to make her friend leave. Now alone, she turned her gaze back to the phone lying on her cluttered table of papers, magazines, and children's books.
A photo of a group of men—all wearing white—at MIA still filled the screen. All except the one in the middle, wearing a light-blue long-sleeved shirt rolled to the elbows, paired with black six-pocket shorts and rubber shoes. All six men smiled, but his smile was different.
Yvette pressed a hand to her chest, waited to feel something, then sighed.
She still felt nothing.