PluckingthePearl (6 page)

Her fingers dug into the back of his neck. The sensation of
scratching nails and the sting that followed barely registered. To his delight,
she pulled his head to her other breast. He gave it the same treatment but
faster because as much as he wanted to tease the point slowly to full erection,
he couldn’t slow down this time. He pulled her into his mouth, rolling the
tender bud with his tongue.

The vision of a red light formed in his mind, warning him
they were both out of control but trying to stop it would be harder than halting
a train. If they did too much more of this, he knew he’d spread her legs the
rest of the way—dangling stockings and all—and fuck her right here on the
table. And he wouldn’t be able to stop until he was satisfied.

He also knew she didn’t want that.

Pushing off the table for leverage, he forced himself to
step back. The energy it took to restrain himself sapped him, making him hang
his head for a moment.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

Everything, he thought as he looked up at her upturned
breasts, the dusky nipples slick with his saliva and swollen from his hard,
insistent sucking.

“I want you so much.” His voice sounded so raw he barely
recognized it as his own.

Feeling a bit more in control, he moved closer to her again.
He wasn’t done with her tonight and if he just went more slowly he was sure he
could stay in control more easily.

When he cleared his throat and gripped her knees to part
them, she held them closed with surprising strength.

“Am I going too fast?” he asked.

She looked away. “It’s not that.”

He persisted and spread her legs until he saw the prize he
sought. She wore step-in panties of white cotton and the wide legs teased him
with a view of her nether hair. The large, wet circle revealed just how much
he’d aroused her.

“They’re old and very plain,” she admitted, lifting her
chin.

So that’s what was bothering her. Her previous employer’s
charity hadn’t extended to undergarments.

“I couldn’t care less, honey,” he replied. “In fact, I like
silk stockings and old cotton panties.”

The dampness made the thin, worn fabric look thinner,
hinting at the shape and rich coffee hue of her folds. Caleb gripped her knees
hard and brought them together, hiding the slick treasure from view.

“It’s getting late.” He pointed to the dinner he’d brought.
“We should eat.”

Instead, she glanced up at the clock on the wall and put her
hand over her mouth. “Leroy has been waiting a long time. What must he think?
And my aunt is surely waiting up for me.”

He winked at her. “Tell them there was extra cleaning to
do.” He took a deep breath and helped her roll her stockings back up. “Pearl, I
didn’t just stop because of the time. I was starting to lose control and I know
your virginity is important to you.”

“Thank you,” she replied as she hurriedly snapped the garter
fasteners and smoothed down the legs of her panties and the hem of her dress.
“We shouldn’t even have done this. I can’t believe I’m so weak. It can’t happen
again.”

When she pulled her bra straps back into place and worked on
buttoning her bodice, he helped her with that too. “We said that last time,” he
reminded her. “I think we’re well beyond trying to stay away from each other
now, don’t you?”

She smoothed her pinned hair. “Maybe you’re right. I hunger
for you as if I’m starving and it never goes away.”

Caleb’s heart did a somersault of joy in his chest. “I was
thinking we could work out an arrangement.”

“An arrangement?”

He took a hanky from his shirt pocket, reminding him of the
day he’d met her, and mopped his damp forehead. “Yes. We would spend this time
together every evening you work late.”

Her arched eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Every evening?”

“You’ll marry someday.” He took her hand and studied it,
unable to look into her haunting eyes right now. “And that’s when I’ll lose
you. For now, let’s just enjoy this. I swear I won’t take your virginity from
you.”

“But it’s still wrong, even if I stay a virgin.”

He interlaced his white fingers with her dark ones and held
up their locked hands. “Look at the colors of our skin, Pearl. Under the
circumstances, this is all we can ever have. Our passion isn’t very convenient
but it’s a gift we can’t just throw away.”

She traced their interlaced fingers with the finger of her
other hand. “I wish things were different.”

“So do I but they’re not,” he said firmly. “I need you. I
never realized how lonely and obsessed with work I was.”

“I need you too,” she whispered.

“I never want you to feel pressured to do anything you don’t
want to do and your jobs are safe no matter what you decide,” he reminded her.
“Will you agree to our
arrangement
?”

She lowered her eyelids and hesitated but when she lifted
them again, he saw the green depths of passion in her eyes. When she nodded at
last, his heart did another somersault and he kissed her to lock their
agreement, gently and slowly this time. They had time and a future to look
forward to now. Not much of one but it was better than nothing.

He helped her off the table. “I could buy you some fancy
panties if you like. They make them with lace and fabric so sheer you can see
right through it.”

She held up a hand. “Absolutely not.”

“Then don’t wear any tomorrow.”

Pearl blinked in surprise. “That wouldn’t be proper. I could
forgo the stockings…”

“Wear the stockings and garters but no panties. That’s an
order.”

She lifted her chin and went to fetch the fallen broom
behind him. “We’ll see. Caleb!”

He spun around. “What is it?”

“Your neck,” she exclaimed. “It’s full of scratches and
you’re bleeding.”

Barely aware of the vague sting, he swiped a hand across the
back of his neck. “I’ll be damned,” he said when he saw the traces of blood.

She took the hanky from his hand and wiped his wounds. “I’m
so sorry. I can’t believe I did that to you.”

“I’m not a bit sorry,” he said proudly. “I guess I’ll claim
I got into a tangle with a wildcat. At least it’s not far from the truth.”

“And I have to be careful not to bathe in front of Sadie or
Wilma. I think you bruised my breasts.”

He headed to the door. “We’ll both have to be more careful.
If anyone ever found out about this, it would be a disaster.”

“So why are we doing it?” she asked.

He hated the worry that knit her delicate brow and knowing
he put it there with his selfish wants.

“Because we can’t
not
do it but our guard has to be
up with everyone at all times.” He put his hand on the doorknob. “I’ll be thinking
about you all day tomorrow.”

“Me too. Until tomorrow,” she said.

“Shall I walk you to the restaurant to meet Leroy?”

“No, I can manage,” she replied. Just before she left, she
kissed his cheek. “Good night, Caleb.”

After she’d gone, he leaned against the wall. His legs were
so weak and rubbery he nearly slid down the length of it yet his heart raced as
if he’d run across the island and back.

What had he done? He’d just made an arrangement he had no
business making but his desire hadn’t given him a choice. Until Pearl married,
he was going to savor every stolen moment with her.

As he turned the overhead lights off in their special room
and closed the door, he hoped she didn’t marry anyone else for a long, long
time.

Pearl took her place at work the next day, avoiding eye
contact with Leroy.

“You’re late,” he’d told her last night at the restaurant.
“The boss man treat you all right? He ain’t forcing himself on you or anything,
is he?”

The blood had drained from her face as she wondered how much
he suspected.

“Of course not, Leroy. He’s very polite. I just clean like
he tells me to.”

Luckily he’d seemed satisfied with her answer.

She’d spent so long getting ready that morning Wilma had
fussed at her. In the end, Pearl had decided to follow Caleb’s orders not to
wear panties, but regretted it. The loose legs of the undergarment had given
her more protection than she’d realized.

Now she felt every draft caress her bare skin, reminding her
of his hands on her legs, pulling down her stockings and kissing her inner
thighs.

What if a wind blew through the open unloading dock door and
raised her dress, exposing her? Luckily the warm morning air told her it would
be a still, summery day. She kept her legs pressed as tightly together as she
could while she worked, sure everyone knew her secret.

For some reason, the thought made her wet. Every time she
reached for an oyster, the tips of her breasts—sore from Caleb’s relentless
mouth—rubbed the inside of her bra. That made her even wetter.

What would he do to her tonight? His order not to wear
panties suggested he had plans for the spot between her legs. She hoped so. All
the attention he’d given her thighs last night had made it throb with
unbearable heaviness. She’d nearly sat doubled over on the boat ride home
because the sweet ache pressed against her entire pelvis.

What had the man done to her?

Even the sight of the oysters made her tingle with need.
Each time she shucked one, she imagined how wet and arousing it would look on
Caleb’s tongue.

To her horror, a hot rivulet of fluid dripped down the
inside of her thigh. She froze, sure it would course all the way down her leg
for all to see.

“Are you all right?” Jimmy asked her. “You’re standing so
stiffly you look sick or something.”

“I’m fine,” she replied. “Please don’t interrupt your
shucking on my account.”

After he finally turned back to his work, Pearl expelled the
breath she’d been holding. Although her thighs were still damp, nothing rolled
down to her calves. The tops of her stockings must have caught the droplets.
The weather wasn’t helping. It was hard to tell where the humidity in the air
ended and the moisture on her skin began.

Good heavens. What had become of her? She’d gone from
respectable girl to a dog in heat. How could she have agreed to Caleb’s
indecent arrangement? She could almost hear Mama’s voice, telling her how wrong
it was and how disappointed she was in her. Pearl pried an oyster open with
extra force.

It’s not vulgar
, she told herself. Caleb was special.
If they were the same color, they could court and marry like a normal couple,
but they weren’t. He was such a caring man, only taking from her what she gave
instead of forcing himself on her as many men in his position might have done.
He’d even stopped when his control had threatened to slip.

What would happen if he did lose control? Would she be able
to stop him? She hadn’t been in control last night herself. When he put his
searing, wet mouth on some of the most tender areas of her body, she would
probably agree to almost anything. He’d given her his word he wouldn’t take her
virginity and she trusted he’d abide by it.

She pushed thoughts of Caleb from her mind and focused on
her shucking, hoping her thighs would dry and stay that way. Shucking was so
automatic to her now that there wasn’t as much to focus on as she’d hoped.

And just when she’d successfully gotten her mind off him,
she heard his voice. She took a breath and dropped the latest piece of oyster
meat into a pail. At least now she was prepared for him to ignore her. His
words came back to her as she reached for the next oyster.

We both have our roles to play.

Despite the way her body had turned into something wild and
unrecognizable, she was determined to play her role well. She put her full
attention on the oyster sitting on her cutting block, holding her breath until
he walked by.

“Morning, Jimmy. Still shucking at the speed of light, I
see.”

The noisy din of shucking vanished. Instead, Caleb’s
easygoing waterman’s accent wrapped itself around her as if it were a silk ribbon,
drifting up her legs…

Go away!

“And how are you, Miss Wilson?”

Pearl’s throat went completely dry as she turned around. He
certainly wasn’t ignoring her today. The unpredictable man stood right in front
of her, fixing her with a white-blue stare so intense it nearly melted her to
the floor. His eyes glittered with meaning and so many unspoken, secret words.

“I’m well, Mr. Rockfield.”

He stood with his thumbs casually hooked in his suspenders
where they attached to his trousers. Against her will, her gaze drifted there
and skimmed across his pelvis before she directed it back to his face.

She remembered to look for the scratches on his neck. He
wore a tie with the collar pulled high in the back but because she knew what to
look for, she saw a scratch from the side. Knowing she’d put it there made her
stomach feel as if it floated out of her body.

“Did you follow your
instructions
today?” he asked.

When she realized he meant her panties, searing heat raced
across her face before shooting down to her naked bottom.

Unable to speak, she nodded.

“Excellent,” he said before he sauntered away.

After he’d gone, she gripped the edges of the oyster table
and struggled to catch her breath. She nearly jumped to the roof when Jimmy
touched her arm.

“Are you sure you’re not sick?” he asked. “It’s awful hot
today. Maybe you should lie down for a bit.”

“Maybe later,” she replied. “It is hot.”

“And don’t let the boss make you nervous,” Jimmy added.
“He’s a fair man and treats us pretty good.”

But Pearl barely listened. Why had Caleb asked such a daring
question? Her reaction had drawn Jimmy’s attention and maybe that of others
too. Was he trying to reassure her after ignoring her yesterday or did he enjoy
playing with danger?

* * * * *

Pearl sat in the lunchroom next to her family, wishing the
day were more than half over. All she could do was think about that private
room and what would happen tonight. Guilt and anticipation had warred inside
her for so many hours they had left her limp and exhausted.

Jimmy sat next to her. The sleeves of his green shirt were
rolled up high enough to expose his biceps and Sadie’s gaze clung to the damp,
coppery-brown muscles. Pearl might have stared at them herself if she’d never
met Caleb. Now they didn’t interest her any more than the wooden table did.

“Are you feeling better, Pearl?” he asked. “Maybe some of
this chicken will help.”

When he handed her a chicken drumstick from his lunch pail,
she hesitated. The scent of it blended into the other cold meals around her. It
looked tastier than the sandwich from Wilma’s house but she didn’t want to be
beholden to him.

“If you don’t want it, I’ll take it,” Sadie commented.

Not wanting to draw any more attention to herself, Pearl
took the chicken. “Thank you, Jimmy.”

Pearl stared at the piece of chicken in her hand, imagining
all too easily a different scenario. What if she were to feel sick like this
someday because she was expecting Caleb’s child? She shivered at the awful
thought. Her life would be doomed. Everyone she knew here—Caleb, her family and
both the black and white communities—would shun her and her child. She wouldn’t
be able to work either.

Humidity pressed her from all directions and became a sea of
moving jaws as hungry workers wolfed down their food. Where was her appetite?

The others were watching, so she forced herself to take a
bite of the chicken. She’d gone so numb it tasted like wood. Getting with child
wouldn’t happen, she convinced herself but she knew she was taking perilous
risks.

The only thing standing between her and the ruin she
imagined was her and Caleb’s self-control. Neither was much of a defense
against their strong passion.

Wilma frowned at her. “You sick? Is it the heat?”

In the meantime, she would have to do a better job at hiding
her emotions about Caleb. Everyone thought she was sick. Maybe she was.
Something had taken over her mind and body.

“It must be the heat,” Pearl decided to say as she held up
her metal cup. “I’m drinking extra water.”

“She works two jobs.” The pride in Wilma’s voice brought a
sullen snort from Sadie.

“Eat, girl,” Wilma told Pearl. “Got to keep your strength
up.”

Because they needed the money, Pearl knew.

Jimmy leaned his elbows on the table. “I don’t think women
should work. It makes them old before their time.”

When Wilma looked down, Pearl shot her a sympathetic glance.

“When I get a woman,” the young man continued, “I’m going to
make sure she stays home and does absolutely nothing.”

Wilma beamed at him as if he’d said magic words. “You’re
about the age for marrying, aren’t you, Jimmy?”

He answered with a shy smile. “Reckon I am. So, Pearl, what
do you do in your spare time?”

The piece of chicken she’d just swallowed lodged in her
throat. Did he know? How could he? The innocent look on his face told her he
was simply interested in getting to know her.

She wiped her greasy hands on her napkin. “I don’t have much
spare time.”

Wilma glared at her brusque answer but Sadie, sitting across
from them, batted her lashes and leaned across the table.

“I like to sew and sing in church,” she said. “I’m a real
good cook too.”

Jimmy barely nodded before looking back at Pearl. “Speaking
of church, the picnic is this Sunday. Would it be all right if I sat with you?”

When she didn’t answer, Sadie filled in. “You can sit with
me anytime, Jimmy.”

“We’d love to have you join us,” Wilma said. “We can figure
out who sits where then.”

Then she covered her lunch pail and stood. “Pearl, Sadie,
come outside for a minute. I got to talk to the both of you.”

What now? Between the lack of panties, her thoughts and Jimmy’s
attention, Pearl’s nerves felt like a pile of shredded strings. At least there
were only five minutes left in the lunch break.

Outside, Sadie stood with her hip cocked and her arms folded
while Wilma loomed over both girls with her hands on her hips.

“I don’t care for the way you two acted in there around
Jimmy,” the older woman said. “Sadie, stop forcing yourself on the boy. He
ain’t interested in you.”

Sadie’s lower lip stuck out and her eyes flashed at Pearl in
hatred. Pearl wished Wilma would be gentler with her daughter.

Then Wilma turned to Pearl. “And you. What’s wrong with you?
You acted as though he wasn’t even there.”

“I wasn’t feeling well,” she pleaded.

Wilma squeezed her arm and shook it. “Well get over it. You
could have a real good future with Jimmy. Then you won’t have to work so hard.”

Like me,
the expression on her face said.

Was her aunt just after money or did she have her best
interests at heart? Pearl wasn’t sure but she realized there might be more
beneath the woman’s gruff exterior than she’d first thought.

“Get inside, you two,” Wilma said. “We don’t want to be
late.”

The midday sun must be getting to Pearl because she had a
crazy urge to cling to her aunt as she had her mother when she was a child.
Caleb had confused her so much she didn’t know what to do or what to think
anymore.

She was a woman now, she reminded herself, and very much on
her own.

* * * * *

Caleb cursed when he dropped the second file folder in a
row. The late afternoon sun slanting through his office window told him it was
almost quitting time, as if his cock didn’t already know.

He could hardly wait for his time with Pearl in their
private room, especially since he knew she wasn’t wearing panties today.
Recalling the sweet taste of her thighs made the numbers he was looking at blur
before his eyes. Instead of ink, he needed to smell her scent and her skin felt
a lot better than these endless papers.

Last night he’d nearly lost control. Tonight he needed to
explore more of her before reaching that point again. He glared at his watch,
wishing the time would pass faster.

“Henry. What are you doing here?” he asked.

The sight of his brother usually cheered him but not today.
What the hell did he want at quitting time?

“Put all that paperwork away, Caleb. Tonight we’re going to
play the best poker game of the year. Some fellows from Baltimore are visiting
the island and they’re loaded.”

Caleb sighed. Normally he’d relish the chance to smoke a
cigar and play some cards. That was before he’d met Pearl.

“Thanks but I can’t tonight. I’m buried in paperwork.”

Henry took off his cap and spun it around his finger, making
the fish hooks jingle. “You can’t work all the time. It’s Friday night.”

“I haven’t even had a chance to get into your plans for the
bulkhead expansion,” Caleb said, holding out his hands, palms up.

“It’s just as well,” Henry explained. “Mayor Carter wants
all new construction to fit the
vision
of Oyster Island.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Caleb asked.

“It means he gets to dictate how we design it.”

“But my dock is part of my business.”

“Forget about that now.” His brother waved. “It probably
won’t be built until next spring anyway.”

Henry said something else but at some point Caleb had
stopped listening. Remembering how succulent Pearl’s nipples had tasted claimed
all his attention. His brother tugged on his shirt collar, pulling him out of
the fantasy.