PluckingthePearl (16 page)

He winked at her. “Long enough to enjoy the concert.”

“I meant to ask your permission to play it but with
everything that happened, I forgot.”

“You don’t need permission.” He flipped the key cover back
up and sat beside her on the bench. “Everything in this house is yours…except
my bed…unless you mean it.”

She lowered her eyes to the keys. “Understood. Are you still
angry with me?”

“No, I’m not angry,” he replied. “I’m sure that
misunderstanding
won’t happen again.”

“I made some crab soup earlier today,” she said. “I didn’t
know what time you’d be home.”

Or if he’d be home, she’d probably wondered. “That’s fine
and I’m sorry if I was unkind to you.”

She nodded in acceptance but still looked troubled. “Caleb,
if I’m to be your housekeeper, I should always know where you are in case
someone needs to see you.”

Now that was a rule he could accept.

“Last night I went to the Sapphire Crab to see my brother,
Henry. If I should go out in the evening again, I’ll most likely be there or
the plant.”

He let out a slow breath. Just sitting next to her made his
cock stir back to life. He longed to pull out her hairpins and carry her up to
his bedroom. Instead, he placed his hand over one of hers as it rested on the
keys. Then he picked it up and examined each elegant finger.

“Now I realize why I’ve always found your hands so
beautiful. Shucking oysters is a travesty for hands like this. Why didn’t you
ever tell me you played?”

She shrugged, making her breasts shift invitingly under her
dress. “There was no point. I had to make a living.”

“Well, things are easier now,” he told her. “I want to buy
you some new dresses so you don’t have to wear hand-me-downs anymore.”

Her mouth formed a hard line. “I appreciate your generosity
but I can’t accept your charity, Caleb. Do you sing?”

He laughed at the unexpected change of subject. “Do I sing?
No. Do you?”

“I will if you will,” she said, then suggested a popular
tune.

“There’s no sheet music.” He pointed to the bare wood panel
in front of them. “You play by memory?”

When she nodded, he found himself surprised once again. As
her fingers moved across the keys and her sweet voice filled his parlor, he
could easily picture doing this every night of his life. When she reached the
chorus, she elbowed him in the ribs to sing along. He did and laughed in the
middle of the song when his voice went off key.

By the time the song was over, they were both doubled over
with laughter.

“I told you I don’t sing,” he said.

Both of them stopped laughing at the same time. When her
eyes grew dark and mysterious, Caleb succumbed to the all-too familiar pull of
desire. He’d forgotten all about finding a card game but it was time to get out
of here before they broke the rules again and ended up back in his bed.

“This was nice,” she said.

He nodded. “It was. I suppose we’re capable of companionship
after all.”

She smiled. “Yes, I suppose we are.”

Unable to resist, he put his arm around her and pulled her
toward him. Not to kiss her but just feel her next to him. When she put her
head on his shoulder, he felt complete.

When someone knocked on the door, Caleb frowned, not
welcoming any intrusion on the private, homey world he and Pearl had built
around this piano tonight.

“Aunt Wilma,” Pearl exclaimed as she answered the door.
“What are you all doing here?”

“We came to see you, child.”

The older woman’s voice raised the hairs on the back of
Caleb’s neck. This was the woman who’d pushed Pearl out of her house. She lived
with him now and he wasn’t about to let anyone hurt her again.

“You doin’ all right?” Leroy asked Pearl as he shot Caleb a
challenging look.

Caleb suppressed a smile at the boy’s protectiveness.

Pearl turned to him. “Cal—Mr. Rockfield, would it be all
right if my family comes into the parlor to visit with me?”

Caleb got off the piano bench. “Sure. I’ll be in my study.”

Pearl’s two cousins looked uncomfortable as they sat on the
Victorian chairs. Not willing to let Pearl out of earshot, he headed to his
study where he could still hear everything. He lit a pipe and smoked it.

“I’ll go make us some tea,” Pearl said.

“Well, well, well,” Wilma exclaimed when Pearl returned.
“You done right well for yourself.”

“It’s wonderful to be a housekeeper again,” Pearl replied.

“Just look at us here drinking tea like royalty,” Wilma
exclaimed. “Child, I’m real sorry I kicked you out of the house. I just had my
heart set on your marrying Jimmy. Looks to me like you don’t need him now
anyway.”

“Do you remember Buck Jackson?” Sadie asked. “He asked for
permission to court me.”

Pearl clapped. “Oh, that’s wonderful, Sadie. I’m so happy
for you.”

“Must be nice, sittin’ around here all day like a lady of
leisure,” Wilma said. “Some of us don’t have such pretty faces and gots to work
hard for a living.”

“I work hard,” Pearl replied.

The old woman’s tone turned sly. “‘Specially in the bedroom,
I’ll bet.”

Caleb bit down on the end of his pipe. He was not going to
put up with anyone insulting Pearl in his house. Throwing the sour woman out
would probably shame Pearl even more, however, so he stayed where he was.

“I am his housekeeper and nothing more.” Pearl spoke with
firmness and pride. “Nothing goes on in this house that I wouldn’t want the
whole world to see.”

Choking on a breath of smoke, Caleb was glad the world
hadn’t seen the painful spectacle of last night.

A teacup clinked against a saucer. “Holdin’ out on him, are
you?” Wilma asked. “That’s the way to keep him interested. You got more brains
behind that pretty face than I give you credit for.”

Caleb blinked, unable to believe what this woman was saying
in front of her family. As he studied his pipe, he realized why Pearl was so
strict about her rules. She needed to hold her head high above a society that
always assumed the worst.

And Aunt Wilma wasn’t the only one. Word of his new
housekeeper had spread. His floor supervisor had even made an innuendo today
about it.

When Pearl asked about her Uncle Charlie, Wilma explained
the change in weather had made his illness worse. Pearl excused herself and
entered the study.

Caleb put down his pipe. “I know she’s your relative but I’m
about two minutes away from booting that woman out of my house.”

She put a restraining hand on his arm. “Aunt Wilma can be a
bit much. I’m sure they’ll be on their way soon.”

“I kept my mouth shut, not wanting to embarrass you,” he
added.

“I appreciate that.” An uncomfortable expression settled
over her face. “Caleb, do you plan to pay me on Fridays like the workers at the
plant?”

He shrugged. “I hadn’t thought about it. What do you
prefer?”

“I’d like to get some of my wages now, if you don’t mind.”

“Don’t tell me you’re going to give any of your hard-earned
money to that spiteful woman. I won’t have it.”

She crossed her arms. “It’s my money and I can spend it how
I please. Besides, it’s for the family, not just Aunt Wilma.”

He went to his desk and filled an envelope with the money he
owed her, marking the sum in his ledger. After he handed it to her and watched
her stash only a small portion into her bra, he grabbed her arm.

“You’re giving most of it away.”

“I have more than I need,” she said. “They don’t and they’re
my family.”

A family that had mostly turned its back on her but that
didn’t seem to matter to her. As he watched her leave the room, he realized
she’d surprised him once again. Admiration filled his chest so quickly it
actually ached.

This entire evening had played his emotions like the keys on
that piano, leaving his knees weak and shaky. Wrestling with his physical
desires in bed last night had been easier.

He had found a real pearl, he realized. If only he could
keep it.

Several days later, Pearl put her finishing touches on the
glass-fronted spice rack in the kitchen. She’d thrown out the old spices that
had succumbed to waterfront dampness and made sure the remaining bottles were
clean and shiny. She’d cleaned up the tins of flour, sugar and lard too.

The entire week she’d spent working hard to peel away the
years of neglect from the house. She was careful to stay out of Caleb’s bed and
didn’t even like to clean in his room.

He’d spent so much time away from the house it was as if he
didn’t even live here. She hoped the smell of spices and roasting chicken would
at least entice him to stay for dinner. They’d been so close the night he’d sat
with her at the piano, almost like a married couple. Hadn’t he enjoyed the
companionship too?

Maybe this spice rack would get his attention but she
doubted it.

When she heard the front door close, meaning he was home
from work, her heart sped up. Moments later, he came into the kitchen.

“Something smells good.”

“Please stay for dinner,” she said.

Caleb nodded, his eyes pale and unreadable. “How about if we
go to the plant together and have oysters as an appetizer first?”

Pearl sighed. “Caleb, you know what will happen if we go
back to that room. Things are different now.”

“I just thought you should get out of the house,” he said
gruffly. “I’ll take a plate in my study but don’t go to any trouble the rest of
the week. I plan to eat at the Sapphire Crab.”

“All right.” She pointed to the spice rack. “I fixed this up
today.”

He hardly looked at it. “It’s nice.”

When she bent down to pick a dropped clove from the floor,
he sighed as if in distress and walked away. She followed and grabbed his arm.

“Caleb, are you upset about something? You hardly looked at
the spice rack and you’ve been so…distant.”

He folded his arms and bathed her in a cool expression. “I
don’t care about the spice rack. How can I even see it when you bend over that
way? All I can look at is the way that tight, flowered fabric caresses your
ass.”

She took a step back, tugging downward on the skirt of her
dress as if to make it cover her more. Knowing he’d been staring at her body
flipped a switch inside her, heating her up like the electric oven nearby.

“This is a respectable work dress or so I thought,” she
said. “I can’t help the way I look.”

“I know you can’t,” he replied. “The rules being what they
are, I just have to keep my distance.”

“But didn’t you enjoy the time we spent at the piano?”

He nodded. “Very much. I tried, Pearl. I tried to let that
be enough but I can’t look at you without needing you in every way a man needs
a woman.”

Her gaze lingered over his lips and moustache, making her
remember too well how they felt on her face and breasts. All she had to do was
say the word and he’d carry her up those grand stairs to his bed, spread her
legs and thrust his powerful cock into her. He’d thrust hard too because he was
so hungry for it. Just as hungry as she was.

“Caleb, ever since that day in church, I feel as if Mama is
watching over me. Even if she’s not, she lives in my heart.” She clutched her
chest. “Please understand.”

“I do understand with my head and my heart. I told you
that.” He shrugged, looking helpless and torn. “But there’s a primitive man
living inside me and I’m afraid he never will.”

“I see.” She looked at the spice rack she’d worked so hard
on, tempted to dump it all into the river.

She wanted him in every way too but companionship was better
than nothing to her. Apparently she didn’t have a primitive man living inside
her like he did.

“I’m trying to be understanding of you too, Caleb,” she said
slowly. “If I make you so uncomfortable, I shouldn’t be here, chasing you out
of your own house.”

“Nonsense. We’ll work this out.”

“I was illegitimate,” she blurted out.

He blinked in surprise. “What?”

“It’s true.”

Then she told him the story of Mama’s life—how she’d been
ostracized and destitute when her family found out she’d gotten with child. So
why had their good life in Annapolis ended too? Maybe Mr. Stuart had sinned.

“That’s why Mama made me promise to be good,” she insisted.
“So I’d have a roof over my head and a good life.”

He gripped her forearms. “Pearl, you
are
good. You
can have a good life and me too.”

But she bit her lower lip and shook her head. He would never
understand. She would have to be content with his respect.

After he went to his study, she took the chicken out of the
oven, the steam fueling her tears. What use was it to live in this fine house,
she wondered, if it was going to be so cold and empty? Having Caleb act like a
stranger was almost worse than not having him in her life at all.

She didn’t know how much longer either of them could
withstand living together under these conditions. Unfortunately she had nowhere
else to go.

At least the physical activity that filled her days brought
blessed sleep and forgetfulness. Once the house was completely in order, which
it soon would be, how would she fill her days then? Thank goodness Caleb had a
piano.

* * * * *

After dinner, Pearl closed the curtain over the small
bathroom window and sifted pale bath salts into the steaming tub before turning
off the water. She’d decided to have a nice bath and enjoy indoor plumbing
while she still could.

She reclined in the claw-foot tub and closed her eyes,
determined to think of anything but Caleb. Unfortunately she couldn’t think
about anything else. The way he’d looked at her… The raw need on his face…

Of its own accord, her hand lingered over her breasts as she
cleaned her body. When her fingers toyed with her nipples, making them tingle
and elongate, they were his fingers. When she spread her legs, the hot water
bathing her wet folds was his tongue.

She clenched the edge of the tub, determined to keep her
hands out of mischief but her body cried out in need for Caleb. The fierce
burning inside her core had to be satisfied even if only with her thoughts.

A finger slipped into her swelling folds, thrusting with
increasing urgency. It was his finger, the evening he’d caught her sleeping in
his bed. No, it was his cock—hard, slick and magnificent. Her head thrashed
against the rim of the tub as water splashed with her mindless strokes…his
strokes…faster and faster.

As her muscles tightened with her mounting pleasure, she
reached for the washcloth and pressed it to her mouth. Caleb mustn’t hear her.
To her surprise, she managed to gasp instead of scream as hard spasms clenched
her finger.

The moment it was over, tears peppered the backs of her eyes
as she realized her naughty deed had been a mistake. To her chagrin, she felt
even less satisfied than when she’d begun.

Oh, Caleb. I miss you so!

* * * * *

An hour later, Caleb pushed his plate across the roll-top
desk in his study. Even though the chicken was cooked perfectly, it tasted like
cardboard. Everything did lately. The faint trace of tobacco scent in the room
didn’t even inspire him to light his pipe.

All he could think about was Pearl’s curvy little ass under
that thin layer of flowery cotton. He’d been more than tempted to have her bend
over the oven and take her from behind. How good those coffee-colored globes
would look with her juices spread all over them.

Just thinking about it made his cock tingle and burn inside
his trousers like the end of a live electric wire. He dragged his hands through
his hair.

I can’t take any more of this!

He had to get out of this house. As he walked upstairs to
use the john first, disappointment weighed down each step. When Pearl had first
told him about her silly rules, he figured it was just a brief phase she was
going through from the shame of being forced out of her aunt’s house. Now it appeared
to be anything but quick. He hadn’t expected to learn she’d been an
illegitimate child but she wasn’t a child anymore.

The logical part of Caleb’s mind worked like the machinery
at the oyster plant as he climbed. Pearl’s need for decency seemed to be tied
to her mother but she couldn’t grieve for the woman forever. She was bound to
return to her passionate and uninhibited self again. Unfortunately he was short
on patience.

And if he couldn’t convince her financial security didn’t
require moral perfection, his bed would eventually freeze over.

When he opened the bathroom door, he heard a splash. He
couldn’t believe the sight laid out before him in the bathtub—slippery brown
skin partially submerged in water made milky white with bath salts.

“Jesus, Pearl!” He gripped the door, his cock turning to
concrete so quickly it hurt. “Are you trying to kill me? Why didn’t you lock
the door?”

“I did. The latch must have slipped out.”

He slapped at the small hook attached to the door. “Damn
lock needs fixing.”

She reached over the side of the tub, not quite able to
reach a towel from the stack of them on the nearby rack without stepping out of
it.

“Please go,” she begged him.

But he couldn’t move. “No. Let me look at you. Please. Just
for a moment.”

Their gazes locked across the small room. His eyes dipped to
the delicious dark peaks poking through the creamy water—water so creamy it
looked as if he’d climaxed in it.

Boiling heat churned in his groin when he imagined tasting
those erect nipples. Why were they so hard? The water looked steaming hot, not
cold. Good heavens. She hadn’t been playing with them, had she? Despite her
proper demeanor, was her body as starved as his? Of course it was. He had only
to remember their passion on the island to know that.

His gaze slid down to her navel and the wet hairs leading to
her swollen cleft. Come to think of it, why was that so swollen too? Was it
just the hot water or had she rubbed herself? Had she come? He didn’t ask her
because he wouldn’t be able to control himself if she had.

He gripped his suspenders so hard it felt as if his knuckles
would pop off. If he stood there a moment longer, he was in danger of jumping
into the water and claiming every bit of that wet, slick skin.

With every muscle in his body pulled to the breaking point,
he stepped closer. When she moved, the splashing sound set off a fluttering
sensation in his balls.

“I think I’m going to come right here and now just from
watching you.” His throat was so tight his voice sounded like that of a
monster.

“Caleb, get out. Please!”

With superhuman effort, he made himself retreat to the door.
“I’d ask you to draw me a bath—a very cold one—but I don’t trust myself to stay
in the same house with you that long.”

He flung the door closed behind him and went into his bedroom.
Pearl had drawn the drapes and turned on the lamp beside his bed. Desire, to
the point of agony, consumed him. He had to get out of here but his cock made
the front of his trousers protrude like a horn. He couldn’t go out in public in
this condition.

After yanking open the front of his trousers, he braced one
hand against the dresser and grasped his bare erection. Seeing Pearl in the tub
had made him almost as wet as that water. Using his own fluid as lubrication,
he rubbed himself with savage, punishing strokes.

Damn her! Damn her for looking so desirable and being so
chaste. Each thought made him stroke faster and harder. If his cock weren’t so
hard, he might be in danger of injuring himself. His hand rocked the heavy
dresser, making it thump against the wall and rattle the glass prisms hanging
from the lamp. The racket only urged him on. If only he and Pearl could rock
his bed like this.

As usual, she was blameless. She’d accidentally fallen
asleep in his bed, the bathroom lock had failed… It would be easier to get
angry at her for purposely teasing him. Well, he was sure as hell angry about
something but what?

Damn society! Because this wasn’t her fault. If Oyster
Island would accept them as a married couple, he’d be in that bathtub with her
right now, fucking her sweet little pussy instead of his hand.

As predicted, it didn’t take him long to come. He reached
for the wastebasket, shooting his semen inside. After he’d spent himself and
stuffed his sated organ back into his trousers, he was relieved to find some of
the anger had gone with it. His shoulders heaved as he took a shuddering
breath.

They couldn’t go on like this. Pearl might as well have
married Jimmy after all. He was destined to lose her one way or another.

She appeared in the doorway dressed in a bathrobe, her face
dewy and damp from her bath.

“Are you all right?” she asked. “I heard the furniture
rattling.”

“I’m going out,” he replied. They both looked at the
wastebasket at the same time. “I’m afraid I made a mess.”

* * * * *

Caleb walked briskly toward the Sapphire Crab. He was
grateful for the cool fall breeze tonight and had already begun wearing his
fedora, instead of the boater, for the change of season. The smell of sea salt
cleared his head and the chill cooled off his body. Boats in the harbor creaked
from being jostled by the restless sea, making an eerie sound.

Try as he might, though, he couldn’t chase away the image of
hurt he’d seen in Pearl’s eyes when he left. No matter how hard he tried to be
good, he seemed to bring nothing but shame into her life. It had to stop.

He didn’t have any answers yet but maybe his brother and a
stiff drink could get his mind off his troubles for a while. When he approached
the entrance to the Sapphire Crab, he stared at the segregation signs out
front. This time, anger sizzled down each nerve ending.

Why couldn’t he marry Pearl and eat with her in this
restaurant? For the first time in his life, he hated Oyster Island. If it
weren’t for society and its stupid rules, he’d be home in bed with her right
now instead of here, looking for a fight.