PluckingthePearl (12 page)

Heat flooded her cheeks as she remembered. “You spoke of
putting your tongue inside me.”

Instead of answering, he got onto all fours and eased her
shoulder down until she lay flat on her back.

“Spread your legs, honey,” he whispered.

When she did as he asked, he encircled her ankles with his
hands. “Oh, Pearl. You’re the wettest I’ve ever seen you.”

He greeted her folds with the tip of his tongue. When he
centered his attention on her clitoris, her hips raised off the quilt. With
strong hands, he gripped them and pressed her down again.

She howled when his mouth consumed her with no warning.
Lips, moustache, tongue and teeth assaulted her so quickly she could barely
tell the textures apart. The scent of her passion filled the area under the
tarp and her thighs trembled with the hold this man had on her body and heart.

Pearl blinked in confusion when he got on his knees and
rubbed the length of his cock in front of her. She could see it much better
here in daylight than she had that evening in his office. It was deep pink and
looked swollen enough to explode.

Her pussy throbbed between her legs, refusing to be ignored,
as she sat up.

“Why did you stop licking me?” she asked. “I hoped to climax
again.”

She cringed at the sound of her words. What would Jimmy and
her family say if they could see her now? Especially her mother… They weren’t
here, she told herself. Besides, whatever she and Caleb had started couldn’t be
stopped now.

“Oh, you will,” he promised, “but I need to come too. Lie
down again.”

Her heart thumped against her ribs as she wondered what he
had in mind. To her surprise, he turned his back to her and planted a knee on
each side of her, dangling his gorgeous penis over her face. When his fingers
parted her thighs, she understood his plan. She spread her legs farther,
closing her eyes and moaning when his mouth brushed across her folds again.

Knowing what he wanted, she opened her eyes, reached up and
grabbed his cock, bringing it to her parted lips. Even her mouth was drenched.
Her entire body thirsted for this man. She extended her tongue to lick the wet
pearl of fluid from the tip of his penis.

“That’s it, Pearl,” he said. “Suck me like you did before.”

With no warning, his tongue knifed into her. In reaction,
her hand tightened around his member, pulling it into her mouth as fast as it
would go. He thrust his tongue into her heat, in and out. She could feel his
hot saliva mingle with her own juices. Urgent desire radiated from the magic he
worked, making her tremble under his mouth and suck his cock as if she starved
for it.

Unable to help herself, she reached up and dug her nails
into his powerful hips. The deeper he tongued her, the harder she scratched.
Cool air hit her between the legs when he lifted his head.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered as his wet shaft lingered near her
lips. “I scratched you again.”

“I don’t mind a bit,” he replied, “but let’s work together
with the rhythm of the boat.”

Pearl closed her eyes and let herself become one with Caleb
and the boat. When the craft dipped into the trough of a wave, his tongue
thrust deep and she pulled his hardness into her mouth. When the boat rose to a
wave’s crest, his hot, sweet tongue pulled out of her and his wet cock slid
from her mouth.

It took them a few tries to get the hang of it but they did.
Nothing else mattered but achieving this harmony, this oneness with each other
and the world around them. Thrust, retreat, rock, rock…

Caleb’s organ seemed to grow larger inside her mouth with
each wave. She could say the same for his tongue. As the waves slapped the hull
and the wind vibrated the tarp, their breathing grew more frantic and Caleb’s
cock filled her mouth to the hilt.

As Pearl sensed the point of explosion building inside her,
she realized the rhythm had changed. Although the water still rocked the boat
slowly, they thrust and sucked faster and faster.

“Pearl, I—”

While she waited for his next words, Caleb’s hot juices
flooded her mouth. His scent and taste filled her existence but the urgency
poised between her legs refused to be ignored. He drove a finger into her while
nibbling her clitoris. She shattered on the second thrust, shouting his name
over and over until she was hoarse.

He planted tiny kisses on her thigh. “That was beautiful,
honey. I’ll remember this for the rest of my life.”

She kissed the tip of his erection too but couldn’t answer.
After experiencing their most magical encounter yet, she wasn’t sure she could
face the rest of her life.

Pearl cast a worried glance at the horizon after they’d
cleaned up and dressed. “We need to get back.”

Caleb looked at the small speck of Oyster Island, wishing,
for the first time in his life, it didn’t exist. All he needed was her on this
boat. Forever.

“Not quite yet,” he replied as he pulled up the anchor.
“There’s somewhere special I want to take you first.”

He’d thought of taking her directly there earlier but he
hadn’t been able to resist living out his fantasy with her on the boat. Tasting
her sweet pussy in tune to the rocking waves while his cock pushed into her
wet, soft mouth had been the most exciting thing he’d ever experienced. All his
past business deals paled in comparison to this.

This time with Pearl had been amazing beyond words and he
wasn’t ready for it to end quite yet.

Luckily she didn’t argue as she stood next to him at the
wheel. He could tell from the soft look in her green eyes she didn’t want to go
back to their lives any more than he did. When he spotted the tiny spit of land
ahead, excitement bubbled through his veins. It looked just as deserted as it
always had.

Pearl shaded her eyes from the sun. “Caleb, is that an
island?”

He nodded as he maneuvered the boat around to the side not
facing Oyster Island. “It doesn’t really belong to anyone but I’ve sort of
claimed it as it my own special spot.”

“It’s beautiful. Do you come here a lot?”

“Not as much as I’d like. I’m usually too busy working.”

He cut the motor and jumped out of the boat. Leveraging the
lines around a tree, he pulled the boat safely onto the sand and tied it
securely. After helping Pearl out of the boat, he took her hand. He watched her
eyes as she looked at the surroundings, seeing them himself as if for the first
time.

The side of the island facing Oyster Island was full of tall
beach grass with plumes and marsh shrubs, blocking them from view. The side
they stood on had a crescent of sandy beach. A few trees provided some shade.

“What’s that building?” She pointed to the ramshackle
structure tucked into the bushes. Its weather-grayed boards camouflaged
perfectly with the surroundings.

“It’s an old hunting shack but we’ll be more comfortable out
here. I’ll get the quilt and sandwiches.”

Her eyebrows lifted. “You brought lunch too?”

“I always like to be prepared for anything when boating.”

His heart raced as fast as an excited child’s as he laid out
their picnic and invited her to sit on the quilt with him. He put it between
two walnut trees, which gave them privacy as well as a mix of sun and shade.
Having Pearl all to himself in his special place was too incredible for words.
Being with her made him wonder why he’d come here so many times to be alone.

Don’t let this day end.

He’d made the roast beef and mustard sandwiches himself.
Sharing his food with her felt as right as sharing his body and his island. If
things were different, he could easily imagine spending his life with her too.

When she finished eating, she sat with her arms around her
folded knees and stared at the water.

“Our time together today is making it harder to say goodbye,
not easier, you know,” she said.

He crouched behind her and moved her hair aside to kiss her
ear. “I know but we’ll have these memories forever.”

She turned and looked at him, her eyes luminous with unshed
tears. “I don’t want memories. I want you! Oh, Caleb, I’ve always wanted you!”

The urgency of her words sliced through him, shattering what
was left of his self-control. He’d lain next to every inch of her velvety,
coffee-colored skin out on that boat. They’d even made each other climax. That
was enough. Too much.

The woman was engaged to another man, for God’s sake.

Now that she’d seen his island, they should go back home but
he couldn’t move. When he glared at his tied-up boat—their only link to this
private fantasy world and the reality of their lives—he half wished it would
float out to sea and sink.

“I want you too, Pearl.” Each word he ground out echoed the
intensity inside him.

He wanted her, all right. In the one way he’d never had her.
The way no man had had her.

“I want your pearl,” he whispered in her ear.

She frowned in confusion but he didn’t give her time to
question him. Something primal and inconsiderate raged through him as he pulled
her onto his lap and kissed her hard enough to swallow her entire face.

But she didn’t seem to mind. Her hands clawed at his shirt
as they had on the boat. This time their clothes came off much more quickly.

“What if someone comes by?” she asked.

“No one will,” he said with a growl.

Whatever had a hold of him was beyond words now. His cock
ached with a white-hot heat that threatened to burn him alive if he didn’t bury
it inside her. Her earthy scent wrapped around him, removing all sense of time
and direction. Lost, he claimed each nipple as his own, pulling the tender
peaks into his mouth and sucking as if he could drink her essence into his
body.

Her fingers fluttered through his hair and stroked his
cheeks and moustache. On the boat, he’d seen lust in her eyes. Here in the
bright sunlight, he saw something else too. The soft look filled his chest with
warmth and pressure, combating his desire. No, adding to it.

Each breath shuddered through his body as he pushed her
soft, petite body down to the quilt and admired how the sunlight burnished her
skin to the color of rich wood. Her thick hair fanned out around her face,
making him wish he’d yanked out those hairpins a long time ago.

He spread her legs with his hands, almost losing his breath
entirely as he gazed at the dark thatch of hair and the glistening, swollen
folds beneath. The pinkness in her center begged for his touch. Sitting above
her oyster was her precious pearl, slick and round.

Mine
, he thought.

His arms trembled as he lowered himself between her thighs.
The pounding of blood through his head drowned out the sound of small waves
constantly lapping the shore, and the heat searing his groin made the sun on
his back cold in comparison. His mouth grazed hers while his aching member
brushed across her belly.

Was she really about to let him do this? He could hardly
believe it.

“Pearl?” he asked close to her ear. “Do you remember what I
told you out on the boat? You can stop me.”

But she didn’t say a word, didn’t stop him. Her only reply
was a near sob of need and a moment of hesitation before scratching one
fingernail down the length of his back.

The path of her nail stung, unleashing something inside him
he could no longer hold back. He thrust his finger into her, making sure she
was ready for his cock. The slick juices of her tight opening drenched his
skin, making his balls contract.

When he slid the length of his erection across her folds,
the heated contact of their flesh clawed deeply into every muscle, demanding him
to make her his once and for all. God, she felt like hot, melted butter.

He was a mere breath away from entering her.

Condoms, he remembered. He had to use one. Reaching for his
discarded trousers beside him, he groped in the pocket.

You gave her your word
, a little voice reminded him.
And although she hadn’t exactly said no, she hadn’t said yes either. She
belonged to another…

Caleb pushed the trousers away and buried his fingers into
the sand as a battle even bigger than The Great War raged through his body.
With the last ounce of his strength, he pushed off the ground with his hands
and staggered backward from the force of it.

With his cock so hard it threatened to break off with each
step, he ran into the water.

“Caleb? Caleb, where are you going?”

He heard her voice but he kept running until the water came
up to his waist. Tears of frustration stung his eyes as he sank to his knees
and begged the waves to give back the control he’d just lost.

Pearl had come to this island as a virgin, and—no matter how
badly she wanted him—if she didn’t leave as one, he knew he’d never be able to
forgive himself.

Pearl crouched on the quilt and toyed with an oyster shell
as she watched Caleb standing in the water. The shells were everywhere,
reminding her of the oyster plant and their stolen times together.

Between her legs, her pussy burned and ached, still reeling
from the texture of his hard shaft brushing across it. It was clear from the
way he slapped the water and dunked his head in it he was wrestling for
control.

She put her fingertips to her mouth, realizing how close
they’d come to making love. During the heat of the moment, nothing had mattered
except feeling his cock inside her. He’d reminded her to stop him with a word
and what had she done? Scratched his back like some wanton whore.

Thank goodness he’d been strong enough for both of them. So
why wasn’t she happy she was still a virgin?

Because she loved that man standing out there and that
changed everything.

Spending so much time alone with him today had made her
feelings clearer. Most men would have fucked her already. Even though he must
have been tempted out of his mind minutes ago, he was out there struggling to
do right by her.

Common sense told her to put her clothes back on, but the sun
warming her skin and the leaves rustling on the trees made nudity feel too
natural and good. This island had woven a spell around her, just as Caleb had.

Her heart raced as she stood and walked toward him where he
now stood in knee-deep water. The cool water swishing around her legs did
nothing to douse the steady flame burning between them. She bathed in his pale,
blue stare as she reached out and took his wet hand in hers.

“I came so close to breaking my word,” he said. “Hell, I
barely remembered I brought condoms.”

“It’s all right. I wanted you too.” She blinked. “Did you
say condoms? You must have known all along we’d end up like this.”

The hint of a smile teased the corner of his mouth. “I
didn’t plan it exactly but I know us too well.”

Realizing how close she’d come to giving him her virginity
and his taking it made her legs shaky, as if the smallest wave could knock her
down.

He clutched the sides of her arms and pulled her close to
him. The cool wetness of his skin enticed her as much as the dry heat of it
earlier. She could not imagine the rest of her life without being able to touch
this man every single day.

She glanced up. The sun was well past noon and was slipping
in and out of some angry-looking clouds gathering on the horizon. They should
have gone back hours ago. How much more time did they have together before they
had to part forever? Minutes? Hours? Even a century wouldn’t be enough.

“I couldn’t take you that way. We have to discuss it first.”
Caleb rubbed his forehead. “I hate myself for even asking. Damn it. I have no
right.”

She traced a rivulet of water as it ran down his chest. “Ask
me anyway.”

He stroked her chin. “I want to be the one to take your
pearl, honey, even though it’s wrong and selfish.”

“I want that too,” she replied, “but I’m to marry. Can we
really trust that condom? What if you get me with child?”

The shame that would cause for her, her family and maybe
even the entire island was too horrible to even think about. He should have
taken her while she’d been willing because now she had second thoughts.

He looked into her eyes with his serious ones. “The chance
of the condom failing is very small but I won’t lie to you. There’s always a
chance. When did you last have your monthly courses?”

She looked away, remembering the day her mother had
explained to her what it meant to be a woman.

“I’m expecting it to return in a couple of days,” she said.
“That makes it safe, doesn’t it?”

“Most likely but there’s no absolute guarantee. I’ll try not
to come inside you but I can’t guarantee that either.”

She nodded in understanding of the risks.

“Do you want to make love, Pearl?” he asked as he caressed
her cheek. “Just this one time before we go on with our lives?”

“Yes, Caleb.” She smoothed back his wet hair, wishing she
were answering a marriage proposal from him instead. “Make love to me.”

He smiled, a flash of white teeth beneath the dark
moustache, as he picked her up and carried her to the quilt where he laid her
on her back. When he kissed her and stroked her cunt with his fingers, the heat
inside her returned as if it had never stopped. Everything they had ever done
had led to this moment, she realized.

His body loomed above hers—hard and dripping wet. She
clasped his outstretched cock in her hand, spreading the juice from the tip downward
and making it even harder.

She watched, fascinated, as he pulled a condom packet from
his trouser pocket, opened it and withdrew a lump of putty-colored rubber with
a ring around it. He unrolled it down his erect staff, sheathing it like a
second skin. Her nipples and clitoris ached as raw need closed around her body
like a fist. When the tip of his penis finally pressed against her pussy, her
nails dug into his shoulders.

“So help me, if you run off again I’ll drag you back here
myself,” she said.

“I’m not going anywhere.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “It
may hurt some so tell me if you want me to stop.”

She nodded and spread her legs wider, wanting to give him
everything she had while she could still give it.

The head of Caleb’s cock slid across her juicy folds,
flooding her with sweet, liquid sensation. Hurt? This couldn’t possibly hurt.

When he entered her, his hardness lodged against something
but he kept moving, ever so slowly. She hardly noticed the pinching pain among
all the tiny kisses he rained on her face. The sensuous and familiar brush of
his moustache on her skin made her instinctively open for him.

She gasped when he was all the way inside, glad he stopped
moving. The insides of her seemed stretched beyond belief. It was as if he’d
filled her with his entire body.

Nothing had ever felt so right.

“Caleb!” she called out when he started to move again.

Concern creased his brow. “Am I hurting you?”

“No,” she whispered. “It-it’s wonderful.”

“Just look at us,” he said.

She lifted her head and followed his gaze to his pale shaft
thrusting between her dark thighs. It was the most beautiful thing she’d ever
seen and resembled the colors of sand around her—palest where dry and darkest
at the water’s edge with bands of varied shades in between.

He moved so slowly and gently, filling her and retreating
like the restless waves beyond their feet. She lowered her head back to the
quilt and locked her arms so tightly around him they ached. Drops of water from
his hair fell on her face, the sensation heightening the waves of pleasure
squeezing her cunt.

As she moved more and more under his firm, steady strokes, a
cool wind blew across their bodies. Both of them were wet with seawater and
sweat. Gray sky and swift-moving dark clouds appeared beyond his flexing
shoulders.

“It’s going to storm,” she said.

He tasted her neck. “I couldn’t care less right now.”

She tracked the furrow down his spine with her fingernails,
letting her hands finally rest on his hips. While they moved up and down, she
met his strokes. The rhythm of the waves still coursed through her from
spending so many hours on the boat.

“Mine,” he said as he moved faster and harder. “You’ll
always
be mine.”

Her tight channel ached with pleasure as it struggled to
expand and accommodate his new rhythm. With every stroke, he changed her.

While distant thunder grumbled, the breath caught in her
throat or was it a sob?

“Yes, Caleb. Yes…yes,” she said as an image of them standing
at the altar flashed through her mind.

Such pleasure and a feeling of rightness flowed through her
she wondered why she’d fought this for so long. She realized they had been
meant to do this from the moment they’d met. Oyster Island was far away but
this was real. Finally the only man she wanted was in her arms where he belonged.
No circumstance could possibly separate them now.

He reached down to rub her button of pleasure while he
continued to stroke. Each touch dug her nails into his back and brought her
climax rushing to shore faster than the storm. When the moment came, it struck
her with the force of a thunderbolt. She screamed as she closed her eyes and
clung to her man.

“My, that was loud,” he said in her ear. “It turns me on to
know I made you scream like that.”

When she opened her eyes again, Caleb was outside of her,
rubbing his cock over her stomach. The condom was gone and the swollen head was
so engorged it was the color of ripe berries. He threw back his head and
groaned as his warm, wet seed showered across her belly.

She rubbed the pearly fluid, so white against her dark skin.
“Thank you for not doing this inside me.”

He kissed her gently. “And thank you for giving yourself,
Pearl. This meant so much to me.”

Emotion welled in her chest but Caleb pulled her up before
she could find the words to express it.

“Hurry. We need to wash up before the storm hits. It’s
dangerous to be in the water.”

The entire day had been dangerous, she thought as she
splashed water across her belly, erasing the evidence of their lovemaking. They
ran back to the beach, folding up the quilt as the first raindrops fell.

“Go in the shack,” he told her as he handed her the quilt
and their clothes. “I need to secure the boat better.”

Pearl now knew what she needed to say and it couldn’t wait.
She reached for his hand and pulled him close to her body.

“Caleb, I-I can’t marry Jimmy. I love
you
.”

A streak of lightning accentuated the paleness of his eyes
and a coldness she’d never seen there before.

“I told you to get inside!” His voice was even colder than
his eyes as he pushed her away.

She stared at him in disbelief as he headed to the boat
without another word. This couldn’t possibly be the same man who had just
kissed her tenderly and made such sweet love to her.

Unable to move, she watched waves rolling through a clump of
cordgrass at the water’s edge. Each blade bent under the force, bending the one
before it in turn just as her strength had bent beneath the force of passion.

Pearl finally clutched the quilt and their clothes to her
body as she ran into the shelter. She shivered from the rain and wind but
Caleb’s reaction most of all. Moments ago, her world had been so right. Now
everything was wrong—terribly wrong.

He was just preoccupied by the storm, she told herself as
she stood at the doorway and watched the wind tear at the leaves of the trees.
He’d taken her pearl, just as he said he would. She’d given it to him, only to
end up like one of the oyster shells at her feet—discarded and used. Turning
from the doorway, she put her hands over her face.

What have I done?

Caleb pulled the boat farther on shore so the storm wouldn’t
wash it out. Why had he done it? Why had he taken her pearl? It didn’t belong
to him.

He cursed as the wet rope slipped out of his hands more than
once. When a jagged streak of lightning lit the sky, he realized standing in
water wasn’t the smartest thing to do either. Getting struck by lightning was
probably exactly what he deserved, though. After all, he’d just ruined Pearl’s
future.

He glared down at his limp cock, wishing he’d had better
control over it. The rain made the scratches on his back sting, almost making
him hard all over again. Discussing sexual intercourse with her beforehand
instead of taking her in the heat of the moment didn’t justify his actions.
Neither did her consent. He was older and should have known better.

Why had he suggested this boat trip in the first place? In
the back of his mind, he must have known all along he’d end up between her
legs. What he hadn’t predicted was how tempting this beautiful island would be
for them both.

Nevertheless, he’d brought her here and he despised himself
for it.

Caleb rested his hands against the slick hull of the boat
after he’d pulled it up far enough. Thunder crashed, rattling his ribs. He
needed to get inside that shelter before he got barbecued by the next streak of
lightning.

It was time to face Pearl and try to repair the damage he’d
done. The thought of what he was about to do lodged a block of ice in his
stomach but it couldn’t be helped. There was no other way she would embrace her
new life and have a secure future. It was the least he could do for her now.

He had to make her hate him.

After grabbing a lantern and the rest of the food from the
boat, he ran to the shelter. When he got near the doorway, he cocked his head
at the strange sound he heard. It was hard to decipher it against the roar of
the storm but it soon became clear it was Pearl. Crying.

Caleb gripped the rough boards of the shelter exterior and
hung his head, ignoring the hard rain beating down on his scalp and naked body.
Each muffled sound knifed his chest. He had brought her to tears and he
couldn’t even scoop her into his arms and comfort her as he yearned to do.

The storm showed no sign of letting up and the sea beyond
was a seething cauldron of high waves. His stomach sank when he realized this
wasn’t a passing summer thunderstorm. It was the kind of storm this area saw in
spring and fall as the departing season clashed with the new one. This one
could linger for hours, maybe even an entire day.

He and Pearl would be stuck here a while, possibly all
night. Under other circumstances, it would be a dream. They could while away
the hours in each other’s arms, making love over and over again. Unfortunately
the color of their skin brought its own set of circumstances and there was
nothing he could do about it.