PluckingthePearl (15 page)

“My study.” He flipped on the light.

As if drawn to it, she walked toward the painting on the
wall. “Is this…your father?”

“It is.”

A strange warmth settled in his chest as he turned out the
light after them and continued to the kitchen. It was as if he was showing her
the rooms of his life, not just his house.

“You’ll figure out where everything is as you go,” he said.

The look of wonder on her face returned. “You have an
electric stove. Tell me what you like to eat so I’ll know what to cook.”

He tugged on her arm. “Later. Let’s get your luggage. I want
to show you the upstairs.”

Especially his bed.

With her suitcase in one hand and her arm in the other, he
climbed the wide staircase with her. It probably looked pretentious too with
its varnished treads and decorative molding. He wished now his late wife had
had simpler tastes in housing.

After briefly showing her the bathroom and two spare
bedrooms, he brought her into his room. It took up a large portion of the back
of the house. Two windows revealed a view of the water. The remains of sunset
spilled across the water while dusk cast deep shadows into the room.

He set her suitcase down beside his heavy four-poster bed,
thinking it never looked so good. No more oyster table, boat or sandy hut. This
time he was going to fuck her in a real bed like a true lady deserved.

“It’s very grand and fits a man of your stature,” she said.
“Where is my room? I’m tired and dirty.”

He imagined she was after spending the night in a barn. The
thought made him want her even more—wild, messy and screaming with passion.

Caleb took her in his arms. “Your room is here and you’ll
have to wash up later. I want you now, in my bed.”

Something cold slid down his spine when she turned her head
away from his kiss and pushed him away.

He hoped she was just tired but he had a feeling that wasn’t
it. Even after shucking all day, her passion during those evening cleaning
session had been tireless. Did she regret not marrying Jimmy? Was she just
using him to have a roof over her head?

“Is something wrong or are you just tired?” he asked.

She crossed her arms and bit her lower lip. Watching even
that simple action made the tip of his cock throb. If they stood in this
bedroom much longer he was going to throw her on that bed if she liked it or
not.

“Caleb, I can’t get into your bed. Not tonight. Not ever.”

His hearing must be going bad. He grabbed one of the
bedposts for support. “What?”

A deep breath made her chest rise, drawing his attention to
her breasts. “You hired me to be your housekeeper. If you expect more than
that, I can’t work for you.”

It felt as if the floor had just dropped beneath his feet.
Was this the same woman who’d kissed him on his boat with tears of love in her
eyes? He must be having a nightmare.

“Pearl, don’t tease me to get me more aroused.” A growl
filled the back of his throat as he reached for her. “I’ve thought about you
all day and I’m out of patience. Hell, I thought I’d lost you for good
yesterday.”

She spun out of his grasp and clutched the edge of his door.
“Caleb, don’t touch me. Please.”

“I’m sorry.” He held out his arms. “I don’t want to force
myself on you but I need to hold you. I missed you.”

But she stayed by the door. He clasped his hands behind his
back so he wouldn’t be tempted to touch her.

“Pearl, what is going on? You at least owe me an
explanation.” He winced when an awful thought occurred to him. “My God, did
Jimmy attack you or something when you told him you couldn’t marry him?”

She held up a hand. “No, it’s not that.”

“Then what?” Caleb yelled in spite of himself. “I can
understand if you don’t want to make love right now but you won’t even let me
hold you. You’re not acting like the woman I know. I thought you loved me.”

“I
do
love you.”

He frowned and scratched his head. “Did I miss something?”

To his surprise, she stepped forward and touched his face so
briefly it was as if a butterfly had brushed him with its wings. Feeling her
touch after she’d pushed him away nearly buckled his knees.

Despite her small size, she’d filled his entire house with
her presence—and an iron resolve he’d never seen in her before—in just moments.

With all the willpower he could muster, he left his hands at
his sides and didn’t touch her. There had to be an explanation. The love was
still there in her eyes.

“Caleb, we can’t be lovers anymore.” She put her hand to her
chest. “
I
can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because it wouldn’t be right,” she replied.

He shook his head. What on earth had happened to her? “You
seemed to think it was all right on the island. You even got on top of me,
remember?”

She looked away and covered her face with her hand. “Don’t
remind me how shameless I acted.”

“But this is the perfect situation.” He swept his arms wide
to indicate the room. “Here, the eyes of the world can’t see what we do. We
have to be discreet, of course, when we’re in public. We have to keep the doors
locked and can’t stand in front of the windows naked.”

She shook her head and pressed her lips into a stubborn
line. “We can’t act like a married couple if we’re not.”

He dared to touch her shoulder, feeling triumph when she
didn’t pull away. “Pearl, you know I’d marry you if I could.”

Her lips trembled with emotion. “I know but the point is we
can’t.”

“No one will know what we do here.”

She slapped her chest. “
I’ll
know inside.”

“I guess I’m just a businessman looking at what’s
practical.” He let go of her and put a hand on his hip. “To me, keeping up
appearances is enough.”

“Not for me,” she replied.

“If virtue is so important to you, then why didn’t you marry
Jimmy?”

She clasped her hands together. “Because I didn’t love him.
It wouldn’t be fair to him.”

Caleb rubbed his forehead. “I wish you’d told me this before
I hired you. This isn’t what I expected at all.”

“I would have but I was afraid someone would overhear in
your office in the middle of the day,” she said. “I wouldn’t blame you if you
changed your mind.”

Change his mind? What kind of man would he be to leave her
out in the street? Her oyster shucking skills were fair at best and she had no
home.

“What are you suggesting exactly?” he asked.

“I’ll be a housekeeper in every way,” she said calmly. “I’ll
clean, cook and—”

He waved. “I couldn’t care less about all that. What are the
rules?”

She looked thoughtful as if she were figuring this out as
she went along. “We’ll spend time together, of course. We can sit together in
the parlor in the evenings, talking and reading.”

Caleb rolled his eyes. She’d just described his passionless
marriage.

“Am I allowed to kiss you?” he asked.

“I’m sorry, no. An occasional embrace will be fine as long
as it doesn’t last too long.” She looked at him with serious eyes. “The
attraction between us is strong so we’ll have to be very careful not to tempt
each other.”

He turned and planted his hands on the edge of the dresser.
“You’re asking an awful lot of me.”

“I know and I appreciate it, Caleb. Companionship has its
own joys, you know. It’s better than being strangers.”

Companionship.
He couldn’t even think about her
without picturing her naked and moaning with pleasure. After all, their
relationship up to now had mostly been a sexual one. Did he really love her or
just her body?

He supposed he was about to find out.

“What I don’t understand is why,” he said. “How could you
change so much in one day?”

She touched his arm. “Caleb, when I walked into that church
Sunday, the reverend was giving a sermon about the sins of fornication. I
realized how wrong those things we did together really were.”

They weren’t wrong, damn it!
But he knew better than
to argue with her right now.

“And then Aunt Wilma kicked me out of her house. I was so
humiliated.”

When her voice broke, he turned and pulled her into his
arms. To hell with the rules. He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling as if a
missing piece of him had just been put back.

“I’m so sorry I put you through that, honey,” he whispered.

“It’s not your fault we’re not the same color,” she said,
hugging him back. “At least I can be a decent person going forward.”

What a woman she was, always trying to work hard, live an
honest life and do the right thing. The very qualities that made him love her
were going to drive him out of his mind.

She pulled back just enough to look at him. “Do you see?
Getting this housekeeping job is like having my past restored, the way it was
before Mama died. It’s my second chance in life to do the right thing.”

He did understand, more than she knew, but that didn’t make
it any easier. Heaving a sigh of resignation, he grasped her chin between his
thumb and forefinger, wishing the velvety texture of her skin wouldn’t make his
groin so tight.

“Pearl, I want you to know I’ll never make you do anything
you don’t want to do.”

She gently removed his hand. “Thank you. Now if you’ll show
me to the attic, I’ll freshen up before I cook your dinner.”

“The attic?” Did she honestly expect him to let her sleep up
there? “Nonsense. You can have the large spare bedroom.”

“The small one will be just fine.” She reached for her
suitcase by the door. “What would you like for dinner?”

He took the luggage for her. “I’m afraid I don’t give a damn
about dinner right now.”

What he truly hungered for he could no longer have. He had
no idea how he was going to live with such temptation without losing his mind
but he would try his best, for her.

When Pearl woke up the next morning, Caleb had already left
for work. After going out to buy some new hairpins, she found cleaning supplies
in the kitchen and rolled up her sleeves. Where to begin? The house needed a
lot of work but it couldn’t all be done in one day. She grabbed the feather
duster, deciding to start with dusting.

She wanted to do a thorough job since she’d disappointed
Caleb with her vow of chastity. He was a fine man to respect her wishes. It
wasn’t easy for her either. She’d dreamed about being in that big bed of his
last night with his lean hips flexing between her open thighs.

As she dusted a picture of him hanging in the parlor, she
lingered to admire his pale eyes and dark moustache. Even his serious
expression intrigued her. He held up a big fish in the picture. She clung to
the textured wallpaper for support because looking at his strong hands made her
skin burn to feel them on her again—caressing her inner thighs, tugging at her
nipples…

Get that thought right out of your mind, Pearl Wilson.
You have a job to do.

The Victorian chairs and heavy antique tables reminded her
of Annapolis and she dusted each one with care. Everything was heavy and solid
with quality. The thick rugs on the wooden floor cushioned each step and she
hadn’t felt this clean in weeks after soaking in the big bathtub last night.
Even the flushing toilet delighted her.

Caleb’s home was worlds apart from the Johnson cottage and
standing at the shucking table all day.

This is your second chance, child. Don’t ruin it.
Pearl
heard her mother’s words as if she were in the room with her.

She saved the upright piano for last. After dusting it, she
sat on the padded bench and rolled back the cover from the keys. The window
next to it, on the side of the house, had a view of the street and bend of
shoreline where a seagull squealed, wheeling against the autumn breeze.

Would Caleb mind if she played his piano? She just tested
one key, resolving to ask his permission this evening. The resonance of that
one note pulled her back to the past and Annabelle’s piano lessons. Unable to
stop herself, she played a song she knew by heart and then another.

How happy Caleb’s wife must have been, she thought as she
looked out the window. How lucky, too, to be able to marry him. She looked down
at the keys, black ones mixed with white. If the music from these
different-colored keys could harmonize so well, why couldn’t she and Caleb in
the eyes of society?

She put the key cover back down and stood, thinking she
should be at the shucking plant instead where there was too much commotion to
think about the impossible. To distract her thoughts, she turned on the big
radio.

Next, she cleaned the intricate crevices of the curlicues in
the carved wood of the furniture and started polishing. The hours flew by as
she worked. When the sun began to set while she worked upstairs, she realized
the task wasn’t going to get done today. The constant physical activity finally
made her eyelids and limbs heavy.

She went into Caleb’s room, inhaling the faint masculine
scent from his shaving supplies. The heavy furniture, combined with the dark
green of the rug and broad stripes in the wallpaper, reminded her she was in a
man’s lair.

Then she stared at the bed. It looked massive and imposing
yet inviting and comfortable at the same time, just like the man himself. He’d
made it very clear how much he wanted her in it. He had no idea how much she
wanted to be in it too.

As she ran her hand down one of the dark, glossy posts, she
pictured the two of them there waking up on a Saturday morning, nestled in each
other’s arms. She also saw their arms and legs tangled in the sheets, their
skin damp with passion. Something that could never be.

It wasn’t fair!

She touched the smooth, white coverlet, realizing Caleb had
not only made up his own bed but very neatly too. Her feet ached from being on
them all day. Lying on that bed would feel so good.

If housekeepers didn’t play pianos without permission, they
certainly didn’t lie in the master’s bed.

One moment wouldn’t hurt, she decided. She just wanted to
see how it felt and imagine what it would be like to share it with Caleb. After
that, she’d never go near it again. After making sure there was no stray dust
on her dress, she took off her shoes and placed them beside the bed.

It was so high she had to hoist a leg up and climb on. As
soon as she flipped onto her back, she exhaled a sweet sigh. Never in her life
had she lain on something so soft and heavenly. It was like lying on a fluffy
cloud.

More tired than she realized, she decided to close her eyes
but just for a moment.

Not long after, a dream of Caleb filled her mind while her
limbs still floated on that soft cloud. His sea-breeze scent beckoned until his
moustache brushed across her nose. Hot, strong lips found hers and kissed. His
tongue slipped inside her mouth as the dream image penetrated her mind more
deeply.

Heat built between her legs as her hands reached for the man
who enticed her. Short hair brushed her fingertips and the mouth burned a wet,
fiery path down her chest. Her nipples ached for attention. At the same time, a
strong, warm hand traveled up the inside of her leg.

She moaned when a finger slipped inside the wide leg of her
cotton panties, replacing her sweet, dreamy paralysis with urgent need.

“Caleb,” she whispered as she rocked her hips and the sound
of her juices filled the air. She wanted all of him. Not just his finger. His
cock…

“Mmm. You feel so wet and good.” The familiar voice rumbled
in her ear. “Thank God you’re back, Pearl.”

Pearl blinked several times and finally gasped when she
opened her eyes wide. This was no dream. Caleb was on top of her with his
searing mouth on her neck and his hand under her dress.

Oh no!
How could she have let this happen? She should
never have lain on his bed! The cleaning had worn her out so much she’d fallen
fast asleep. The events pieced themselves together in her mind with hopeless
clarity. Caleb must have come home, found her in his bed and assumed she’d
changed her mind about everything she’d told him the day before.

Which meant they would have to go through that painful
conversation all over again.

“Caleb, no,” she managed to utter but her voice was barely
audible, much less convincing.

“I told you I don’t like to be teased,” he said with a growl
as he clamped her earlobe between his teeth. “Come for me, Pearl. Christen my
bed, honey, with one of your screaming climaxes.”

Worse still, she couldn’t seem to summon the willpower to
make him stop. Her hands moved to his chest, intending to push him away but
they didn’t have a bit of strength in them.

“This is a big misunderstanding,” she said. “Let me
explain.”

But his finger kept stroking, working magic inside her. She
could barely even find the strength to stop her hips from writhing. Oh this
wasn’t what she’d planned at all! Sweet, familiar tension clawed at her spine
and abdomen. If one of them didn’t stop, Caleb was going to get the climax he’d
asked for.

“Caleb, I mean it. We can’t do this! We talked about this
yesterday.”

His mouth sucked the tender skin on her neck, the pressure
of his moustache and lips making her nearly blind with passion.

“You’re in my bed,” he stated as if that negated all their
previous negotiations.

He stroked her harder and faster until her thighs vibrated
with the electric rings of pleasure surrounding her. With no strength left to
fight him, she simply laid her hand on his arm, feeling the muscles bunch under
her fingers.

Tears of frustration stung the backs of her eyes as Caleb
rubbed one of her rock-hard nipples through the fabric of her dress. She’d
planned her new life so carefully and it hadn’t even lasted one day. Her needy
cunt didn’t seem to give a damn about her plans.

Before she could stop it, her body contracted in on itself
and a scream ripped out of her throat.

“Oh, that’s it, honey,” Caleb said as he stroked her pussy.
“Climax all over my big bed.”

Pearl’s arms dropped to her sides in defeat. It was too late
to stop him now. Once again, her passion had overwhelmed her common sense. At
least it was over now. She would make sure to stay away from his bed from now
on.

Shock chased away the afterglow of her climax when she saw
him fumble with his trousers and pull out a very hard organ. Just seeing it
sent a sharp ache of longing through her. She struggled for strength with all
her might.

“I only meant to lie on your bed for a moment,” she said,
“but I was so tired I fell asleep. Please don’t do this.”

Doubt wavered on his face, competing with lust as he grabbed
her knees and spread them.

“But you’re so wet and ready for my cock, Pearl. Please let
me fuck you.”

Having that blue gaze bathing her outspread cunt made it
even wetter. Why did her body betray her so?

“I’m sorry, Caleb. We can’t. We just can’t!”

He let go of her knees and stroked his shaft, filling the
air with the scent of male arousal. Seeing the engorged head, slick with his
pearly juice, made her clitoris throb no matter how tightly she pressed her
knees together.

“Then why did you let me get this far?” he asked. “You
climaxed.”

She lifted her head and pulled the hem of her dress down. “I
didn’t mean to. At first I thought I was dreaming about you. When I woke up, I
didn’t have the strength to stop you.”

“Then suck me,” he said, his voice raspy with need as he
stroked himself. “I need to come too.”

Her mouth watered as she eyed his cock. Oh she’d made such a
mess of things. Now she was torturing the man she cared for and he didn’t
deserve it.

She sat up and hugged her knees. “I can’t do that either.”

He crouched on his knees, stroking himself even faster. His
lubricating juices sounded almost as slick as her pussy had moments before. Her
thighs trembled beneath her dress as if the world would end if he didn’t come
inside her. She was so desperate to join with him it nearly brought her to
tears. Deciding to be celibate was difficult enough. Standing by that decision
while watching his hard, gyrating penis was more than she could bear.

“I must have imagined having you in my bed a hundred times,”
he bit out as he breathed hard. “Somehow this isn’t quite what I pictured.”

“I’m sorry about this terrible misunderstanding,” she said
quietly.

She couldn’t seem to move or stop watching his cock. Just as
she finally moved her legs to the edge of the bed to dismount, Caleb’s breaths
came so fast they melded into one. He pulled a hanky out of his shirt pocket,
barely getting it near the head of his member before pearly streams of semen
shot into the crisp folds of the fabric.

Pearl forgot to breathe as she watched, remembering his
office where she’d swallowed his offering and the island where he’d spread it
across her belly. Should they kiss now? Would it matter? They’d already done
far too much.

Caleb stuffed his spent penis back in his trousers and
balled the soiled hanky in his hand.

“If you want me to play by your rules,” he said, “follow
them yourself and stay the hell out of my bed!”

Before she could reply, he jumped off the bed and went
through the bedroom door, slamming it behind him. Moments later, she heard the
front door of the house slam. Too stunned by everything that had happened to
get up, she reached for a pillow and hugged it to her waist.

She’d disappointed her mama’s memory, Caleb and herself. The
fleeting pleasure hadn’t been worth breaking her vow, especially without the
cuddling and words of love she and Caleb could have shared afterward. Instead,
her body felt hollow.

* * * * *

The next evening, Caleb almost dreaded going home. The
oyster harvest was in full swing now and he’d been so busy at work he hardly
had time to think about Pearl. Now that he was simply driving his car along the
waterfront, the images of her on his bed came back to him full force.

How could they have had such a terrible misunderstanding? At
the time, he’d been too crazy with desire to believe her story about
accidentally falling asleep on his bed and thinking she was dreaming. This
morning he’d noticed the way all his furniture gleamed as if it were brand new
and he finally believed her.

He wasn’t sure if he was glad he’d gotten another chance to
rub her tight pussy or not. It only made him want her more. Sleeping in his bed
last night, surrounded by the lingering scent of her passion had given him a
few dreams of his own.

The less time he spent at home the better, he decided as he
pulled up to the house. In fact, he’d just eat dinner and head back out to
socialize with his brother. Maybe he’d find a good card game somewhere.

He walked to his front door and frowned when he heard a
piano playing. He was in no mood for visitors tonight. After he entered and
hung up his hat, he closed the door gently behind him and stood watching with
his jaw hanging slack.

Pearl was playing his piano. Beautifully.

Forgetting all the tension between them, he stood quietly
and listened as he admired the graceful curve of her neck beneath the carefully
pinned hair. A fire burned in the hearth and the occasional hiss of sparks
punctuated the music. The melody she played brought a smile to his face and his
heart.

This woman never ceased to surprise him. Every day she did
something new. She’d lived in his house for less than three days and already he
couldn’t imagine the place without her.

He tried to stifle a sneeze but failed. The music ended
abruptly as the key cover crashed down.

“Caleb!” She put her hand to her chest. “How long have you
been standing there?”