PluckingthePearl (7 page)

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“I asked you where you got those scratches,” Henry insisted.

Caleb shrugged. “I was, uh, pulling dead branches off my
rosebushes.”

“Don’t you have a gardener that does that once a week?”

Heat prickled across his cheeks. “Well, I couldn’t wait for
him.”

Henry crossed his arms and shot him a shrewd look with dark
blue eyes. “That’s strange. You don’t have any scratches on your arms. Caleb
Rockfield, have you finally been with a woman?”

The heat in Caleb’s cheeks intensified as he debated what to
answer. If he admitted he did, he’d have to make up something about who she
was.

“Of course not,” he retorted. “I really am busy here. Play an
extra hand for me.”

“All right. By the way, the mayor wants us to go fishing
with him tomorrow.” Henry screwed his cap back on. “Unless you plan to weasel
out of that too?”

Caleb leaned back in his chair, wishing he could get out of
it. “No, I’ll go. See you at Oyster Harbor’s pier at sunrise.”

After his brother finally left, he expelled a big breath,
ruffling the papers in front of him. The boyish anticipation he’d felt earlier
had given way to a heavy feeling as if he’d swallowed a bunch of fishing sinkers.

How he hated lying, especially to his own brother, the
person he trusted most on Oyster Island. Before Pearl came into his life, he’d
hardly lied at all.

It was the price he had to pay, he supposed, to be with her.

* * * * *

The sound of the lock clicking in the small shucking room
brought a flood of juice to Pearl’s inner thighs. Caleb hadn’t even bothered
assigning any cleaning tasks to her this evening. He must only want her.

This time he brought a blanket in addition to the usual
basket of oysters and food. The window shades were already down.

“What’s that for?” she asked.

“I realized how rude it was of me to expect you to sit on
that hard table,” he said.

As he laid out the blanket and smoothed it, her belly
tightened. So he planned to put her on the table again.

When he pulled her into his arms and kissed her, joy sang
through her veins. All the worries, confusion and fatigue tormenting her all
day vanished. It was as if she’d just now come alive.

His thumb caressed her cheek. “You look tired. I hope you
haven’t been feeling guilty.”

She looked down. “I’m afraid so.”

He took a deep breath and looked into her eyes with his pale
blue ones. “Do you want to end our arrangement? I don’t like seeing you upset.”

His caring expression and voice filled her with warmth and
strength. “No, Caleb. I just wasn’t expecting you to talk to me today about my
panties.”

When he laughed, his head tipped back. “Yesterday you
complained I ignored you. What
do
you want?”

Pearl couldn’t help laughing along. Despite the passion he
could ignite in her, she realized she enjoyed just being with him like this
too.

She traced her finger over his black moustache, wishing he
were her man. At least he was for a few hours. It was better than nothing.

“I want
you
.” To prove it, she untied his tie and let
the ends dangle.

He smiled as he pulled it off and flung it on the table then
unbuttoned his first two shirt buttons. “Then let’s start off with some
oysters.”

After he shucked the oysters, they ate one each. In an odd
way, the familiarity of the ritual comforted her like snuggling into a quilt on
a cold night. She also appreciated how he spent time holding and talking to her
before seducing her.

This time they ate. Pearl reached for the cold roast beef,
realizing she’d need her strength.

“Thank you for dinner again,” she said. “Did you prepare it
yourself?”

He shook his head. “The Sapphire Crab periodically delivers
cold meals. I store them in the refrigeration room to eat when I work late.”

It sounded like a lonely life.

His hands skimmed her shoulders after they’d finished
eating. “What was it like wearing no panties today?”

“Strange,” she replied. “I felt every current of air but
when I thought of you…”

She turned her head but he turned it back with an insistent
finger. “What did you think? Tell me.”

“I thought about what you did. What you’re about to do,” she
replied. “I was so wet I—Caleb, stop. I can’t talk about this.”

Was she really having this indecent conversation? She was so
lost now she barely recognized herself anymore.

His hand slid down to grip her backside as if he owned it.
“I need to hear it, honey. How wet did I make you?”

The heat of his hand burned through the fabric of her
flowered cotton dress. “I felt it on my legs. It was embarrassing.”

He ran a finger along her bottom lip. “I’m sorry it
embarrassed you but after I get through with you tonight you’ll be glad you
didn’t wear them.”

His words sent a shudder of anticipation through her body so
powerful it made her teeth click together. Without another word, he lifted her
to the table, seating her on the blanket.

Her breath stuttered when he gripped her knees. How could
his hands be so firm and strong yet butterfly light? It was as if he knew she
didn’t need much coaxing. The hem of her dress tickled deliciously as he slid
it up to her garters.

“Spread your beautiful legs for me, Pearl,” he told her.
“Just like an oyster.”

She only opened them a few inches. Without her panties, he’d
see all of her. She didn’t know if she could tolerate that. Would their
agreement be broken if she didn’t do everything he asked?

“Should I take my stockings off?” she asked, stalling him.

“No, leave them on this time.”

Her heart accelerated when he bent to lick the top of her
thigh. The sensation of his tongue through the silk sent spasms through her
hands.

“Spread your legs,” he told her again. “Please. I need to
see your cunt and I don’t want to force you.”

“Such language, Caleb.” Nevertheless, the vulgar word made
her flesh burn hotter.

“I’m not going to waste time making up a new name for it,”
he replied.

What if seeing her naked
cunt
made him lose control?
Her knees trembled as the familiar battle fought inside her. She closed her
eyes and did as he asked.

“So lovely and wet,” he whispered. “I could stare at you all
day.”

She opened her eyes when she thought she was ready to see
his reaction. His searing blue stare ignited an urgent pulse inside her. Could
he see the hot fluid she felt flowing from her?

Touch me, Caleb. Stop looking. Touch. Touch!

Instead, his fingers toyed with her garters without
unsnapping them. Each brush of his skin against hers tightened her belly
another notch. Her limbs quivered with need. He had to notice but she couldn’t
stop it.

At last, Caleb traced a finger to her core and skimmed it
lightly over her folds. His touch was so electrifying it almost lifted her off
the blanket.

“Put your feet on the edge of the table so I can get to you
better.”

He helped her into position until her legs were folded at
each knee. She rested her hands on her upturned knees. Caleb’s shirtsleeves
were rolled up to the elbows so she watched the muscles flex in his arm as his
fingers explored her.

When he concentrated on the hooded bundle of flesh above her
opening, something between a sob and a yell poured from her throat.

“Shh, not so loud, honey,” he warned her. “There shouldn’t
be anyone else around this time of night but you never know.”

She nodded, horrified at the thought someone could have
heard her.

“This is your pearl,” he said, “the most sensitive part of
you.”

As he jiggled it back and forth, liquid fire poured through
her entire body. She’d never dreamed such sensations were humanly possible.
Every touch tightened her muscles a little more.

She couldn’t bear much more of this. Something slowly built
inside her as if she might explode. What was happening to her? If she was sick,
this was the most frightening illness she’d ever had. She had no idea what
would happen to her from one moment to the next. What if the intensity killed
her?

When he slid a finger slowly into her channel, she reached
out and grabbed a fistful of dark, glossy hair. His digit felt hard and huge,
stretching her and adding more fuel to the fire building inside her.

“Caleb, I’m scared,” she admitted. “Something is going to
happen.”

He reached up with his free hand and pulled her fingers from
his hair. “I’ll say. I’m going to go bald if you keep doing that.”

First she’d scratched his neck and now she was nearly
pulling his hair out! She had to figure out how to control the wildness inside
her before it became too dangerous.

“I just feel…strange,” she insisted.

He kissed the front and back of her hand while his other
finger rested inside her body. “That’s how you’re supposed to feel. Something
will
happen. You’re going to come.”

She gasped when his finger pulled slowly out of her. “I feel
as if I’m going to explode and soon.”

“It’s called a climax and it’ll be the most wonderful thing
you’ve ever felt.” He pushed back inside, deeper than he’d gone before.

“Nothing bad will happen?”

“Nothing bad will happen,” he replied. “I promise.”

Perspiration coated her face and chest as she watched
Caleb’s powerful white finger thrust in and out of her folds. Her lips wrapped
around it like arms and coated his skin with her moisture. His penis would look
the same way, she realized, only much bigger.

But that part of him would never be inside her. She would
just have to pretend his finger was his penis. That was easier to accomplish
than she thought it would be.

Every sensation in her body pooled in that one spot,
intensifying with each lunge. The electric hum of the lights competed with the
sounds of their breaths and his rubbing.

“Faster,” she ordered.

She hadn’t said that, her body had. It was in control now.
Her hips thrust hard against his hand and her legs thrashed as if she were
gripped by a violent fever.

“So wild. So passionate,” he whispered. “You were made for
this.”

“Harder,” she ordered.

“You’re going to come soon, Pearl.”

A gasp filled her chest when his finger seemed to double in
size.

“You’re taking two of my fingers now,” he told her.

She’d barely adjusted to that new sensation when his fingers
fluttered inside her, igniting some magic spot. Something shot through her so
powerfully it was as if someone had pulled the trigger of a gun. She went
blind. Couldn’t breathe.

Oh…no. Caleb! God. Help me.

Her hips bucked off the table and her heart pounded even
harder when she heard a scream. It took her several seconds to realize it was
hers. She opened her eyes, realizing she could still see as she pitched
face-forward off the table and into Caleb’s arms.

She grabbed fistfuls of his shirt on the way down, pulling
him to the floor with her. The hem of her dress tangled around her waist as she
landed on top of him. After the startled look left his face and he caught the
breath she’d probably knocked out of him, he grinned.

“You’re determined to kill me, aren’t you?”

“I’m sorry, Caleb, but was that it?” she asked. “Did I have
a climax?”

He laughed. “My God, woman. Do you have to ask? That was a
climax for the record books.”

Feeling limp and giddy, she laughed too. “I thought I was
going to die.”

His moustache ground against her face as he kissed her hard
and possessively. “I never imagined you’d be so wild. You’re such a treasure,
Pearl. My secret treasure.”

Their weight shifted, bringing her bare cleft against the
hard ridge under his trousers. She ground against the bulge.

His hands gripped her hips and stopped them. “Don’t move.
I’m already half a moment away from fucking you.”

The flushed, taut look on his face told her he wasn’t exaggerating.
She knew he was hanging onto control to honor her wishes so she didn’t want to
make it more difficult than it already was. She must have gasped because he
apologized.

“I forget you’re not used to my language,” he said.

“My mother never taught me those words,” she replied. Or
that her body was capable of such exquisite sensation.

“I want to feel like that again,” she whispered.

He smoothed the damp roll of hair pinned behind her ear.
“You will. I’m going to make you feel it again and again. Don’t wear panties
Monday evening either, although I don’t know how I’m going to get any work done
knowing how hot and wet you’ll be while you’re working.”

“I won’t be able to concentrate either,” she agreed,
“especially after this.”

His face grew serious. “We’ll have to make sure you don’t
scream next time, though.”

She put a hand to her mouth. “I tried not to. It just
surprised me. I hope no one heard me. Oh, Caleb. What if someone did?”

He kissed her before she could say anything else. “You worry
too damn much.”

A noise from outside sent him rolling out from beneath her.

“What was that?” she whispered.

He sprang to his feet. “I heard it too.”

The knock on the door sent her heart to her throat. “Someone
knows, Caleb,” she whispered soundlessly. “Someone
knows
.”

And she feared their little world would shatter as quickly
as it had begun.

“Pearl? Are you in there?”

Her heart pounded in tune with the knocking on the door as
she hurriedly smoothed her hair and dress.

“It’s just Leroy,” she whispered to Caleb.

Caleb smoothed his shirt front before unlocking and opening
the door. “Thank you for cleaning this lock, Pearl. It works much better now.”

“Y-you’re welcome, Mr. Rockfield.” She dusted her shaking
hands as if she’d really been cleaning.

“Hello, Leroy,” Caleb said.

Although Pearl’s nerves felt tied in hundreds of tiny knots,
Caleb seemed to assume the role of Mr. Rockfield—calm, polite and in
charge—with ease.

She glared at her cousin standing there in his familiar
plaid cap. He’d scared her out of her mind for nothing. Because of the upcoming
weekend, she wouldn’t see Caleb for two days. Thanks to Leroy, they hadn’t had
a chance to say goodbye this evening.

“What are you doing here?” she asked him.

“I didn’t want you walkin’ around at night by yourself so I
figured I’d come here and look for you. I heard voices coming from this room.”

Her mouth went dry. He hadn’t heard her scream, had he?

Caleb stepped closer to him. “You’re right, Leroy. I should
have had someone escort her to meet you last night but I gave you specific
instructions to wait at the restaurant.”

Leroy looked down at the pail of food in his hand with
guilty eyes. Pearl knew he bought extra food with Caleb’s money to bring home
to the family.

“From now on, you’ll wait at the restaurant. Is that
understood?” Caleb asked.

Caleb’s voice was kind but had a current of power running
under it that allowed no room for argument.

“Yes, sir.”

Pearl stepped out of the room.

“Good night,” Caleb called after them as they left. “See you
all on Monday.”

Pearl didn’t dare to even look back at the man who’d brought
her such pleasure just minutes ago. As she and Leroy walked through the plant
and outside toward the family boat, gritty sand and oyster shells crunched
under their feet.

Cool evening air reached under her dress to caress her bare,
still-swollen…cunt, Caleb called it. She wished now she’d worn panties. Ever
since Leroy had knocked on the door, she’d felt unbearably naked.

She didn’t dare say a word as they walked toward Oyster
Harbor. An occasional car rumbled down the road and in the distance she heard a
boat engine.

Leroy stared straight ahead at the lit pier. “What do you
really do in that room, Pearl?”

“I clean,” she insisted.

He stopped short under a streetlight and faced her. “Do you
think I’m stupid or something? I fooled around with a few girls before. I know
the look they get in their eye when they’re satisfied. The same look you got
right now.”

Pearl looked away. “I told you, I just clean.”

But her cousin stepped closer until he was just inches from
her. “I also know how they
smell
.”

Shame engulfed her in a grip of ice. Leroy’s words made her
feel cheap, as if she were nothing more than some greedy whore. She slapped his
face and ran.

He caught up to her and pulled her by the arm to the dark
side of the hardware store. “I’m just worried about you is all,” he said.

Tears stung the backs of Pearl’s eyes. What had she been
thinking? That she and Caleb could shut off the rest of the world like a light
switch and pretend it didn’t exist? Leroy knew and she could no longer deny it.

How long before the entire world knew? What would happen to
her and Caleb then?

She gripped the sleeves of Leroy’s shirt, almost tearing the
thin fabric. “Please don’t say anything. Not even to Aunt Wilma. Especially to
Aunt Wilma. Please!”

“It ain’t right, you messin’ around with some white man.
‘Specially not the owner of the company. It’ll come to no good.”

Pearl hugged her arms around herself, shivering more from
emotion than the evening temperature.

“It’s not like that, Leroy. He’s special and so caring.”
Words tumbled out of her, straight from her heart to her mouth. “That time is
all we have.”

“Don’t you see you’re heading for serious trouble? I don’t
want you to get hurt.”

She touched her cousin’s cheek, feeling calmer now that she
realized he was only looking out for her. “I’ll be very careful. I promise.”

He took off his cap and studied it. This conversation must
be embarrassing for him too. “If you’re lucky, he’ll just get tired of you. Are
you prepared for that?”

No. She hadn’t even thought it was possible but Leroy had
made her realize crossing the color line was uncharted territory. Anything
could happen. She was certain Caleb wouldn’t reject her, though. What they had
was so special it would last.

Then she remembered her plan to marry. How could she have
forgotten such an important goal so easily?

“This is just temporary, Leroy. I’m going to settle down and
marry someone when the time is right.”

“Unless you get knocked up with his half-breed bastard child
before you get the chance.”

Pearl’s fist clenched and she was tempted to slap him again.
“I’m still a virgin.”

Leroy put his cap back on and walked toward their boat. “For
how long, cousin?”

She caught his sleeve. “Promise me you won’t tell anyone.”

The corner of his mouth turned down. “Don’t worry. I swear I
ain’t going to say anything.”

And she knew he wouldn’t. Caleb was his boss and no one in
the family riled Aunt Wilma any more than necessary.

As Pearl stepped into their boat with shaky legs, she
wondered why her moments of joy with Caleb had to come at such a high price. At
least it was worth it. The climax she’d experienced had been unlike anything
she’d ever dreamed. It was as if she’d exploded into a million pieces and Caleb
had put her back together again. She couldn’t wait to have another.

The hardest thing she faced now was living without him for
two whole days.

* * * * *

Caleb half-dozed in one of the canvas deck chairs on Mayor
Carter’s yacht,
The Great White
, Saturday afternoon. The boat was so big
it barely moved up and down. His brother sat in the chair next to him, sipping
a bottle of beer, the smell of it mixing with the fish they’d caught. Water
slapped against the hull while the sounds of the mayor’s snoring drifted up
from below-deck.

They were anchored out in the Patuxent River within sight of
Oyster Island.
My island,
Caleb thought as he fiddled with his boater
hat in his hands.

“Well, as usual we’ve got buckets of fish and the mayor is
out cold,” Henry said. “What do you want to do now?”

Lick Pearl, Caleb thought. While he liked having her up on
the oyster table, he didn’t want to limit their encounters to that one room.
Leroy’s intrusion last night had ruffled his nerves, reminding him what a
dangerous game they played. Their little sanctuary wouldn’t be quite the same
now.

Maybe he’d take her to some different places. A boat would
be nice. They could lie on the bottom, rocking with the waves, while he feasted
on her breasts or buried his tongue inside her wet pussy. The lips between her
legs looked as kissable as her mouth.

He must have replayed her powerful climax in his mind
hundreds of times last night in his bed. He’d had to rub his own cock until he
came himself just so he could get some sleep. With every thrust, he’d imagined
his hardness inside her tight heat.

Her passion could be dangerous on a boat, he thought. Her
climax would probably capsize it. She would be unbelievable in bed too. How
lucky he was to find such an incredible woman even though it couldn’t last. If
only they could sail away somewhere magical where it
could
last.

Caleb recoiled when a playful fist struck his arm.

“I asked you what you want to do now,” Henry insisted. “What
is wrong with you? Are you going deaf or something?”

He shook his head as if to clear out his thoughts of Pearl
but that was impossible. It was as if she’d planted an entire oyster bed inside
him, layer upon layer.

“There’s still some gas left in this thing,” Caleb replied.
“Let’s cruise around a bit.”

“Sure.” Henry gulped the rest of his beer. “Where should we
tell the captain to take us?”

“Crab Creek,” Caleb stated.

His brother frowned. “Crab Creek? But that’s the colored
section. What in the world do you want to go there for?”

If he only knew, Caleb thought, savoring his special secret
like a raw oyster on his tongue.

“I just want to pass through,” he said. “I’ve never really
seen it before and I’m curious.”

He needed to see where Pearl lived. If he was lucky, he
might even catch a glimpse of her. Monday night was too damn far away.

Henry crossed his arms. “Mayor Carter wouldn’t approve.”

Caleb gripped the rail. “I don’t need his approval for every
little thing I do.”

“Is that why you haven’t even looked at the bulkhead plans
yet?”

“Why do you fawn around that man so much?” Caleb asked his
brother. “You even put worms on his hook for him today. It’s sickening.”

The tips of Henry’s ears grew pink. “I don’t
fawn
. I
get on well with my superiors, which makes life easier.”

Caleb had spent his life doing the same thing. Not to the
extent of Henry but close. Maybe that’s what sickened him most of all. He
released the railing.

“Are we going to Crab Creek or not?”

Henry shrugged. “Okay. I’ll go ask the captain if he’s
willing to risk taking this big boat into such shallow water.”

Until now, Caleb had no desire to see it either. As usual,
Pearl had turned him upside down and changed everything about him. No wonder
poor Henry was so confused. He knew the captain would oblige too. When the
mayor was asleep, Caleb was unofficially in charge.

The boat picked up anchor, sped over the river and slowed as
it entered Crab Creek. Fingers of marshy land, filled with scrubby bushes and
red-winged blackbirds, reached into the water. The river breeze disappeared as
the pungent smell of hot swamp mud pressed around them. The sound of a distant
barking dog carried over the water.

Homes appeared here and there among the trees and mud flats.
No, these weren’t homes, Caleb realized. They were shacks. The outdoor fire
pits and ramshackle outhouses told him the standard of living here lagged
several years behind that of Oyster Island.

Children wearing clothes just short of rags played in one
yard while a man hauled in a rusty crab trap at another. Guilt needled Caleb’s
arms along with all the mosquitoes. These people worked for him. Why was it
that he’d never bothered to even see where they lived?

Why had it taken the beautiful face of a young woman to
finally open his eyes to the world around him?

He tried to picture how it would be to live here. The
gardens looked fruitful and he knew the water was filled with fish and crabs.
Chores probably occupied most of everyone’s time since there was no plumbing or
electricity.

The worst part, though, had to be the housing—hot and
stagnant in the summer, damp and cold in the winter.

“It’s pretty primitive, isn’t it?” Henry asked. “Thank
goodness we don’t have to live like this.”

Caleb didn’t reply. He was too busy scouring both sides of
the water for any sign of Pearl. The creek seemed to meander forever. Did these
people really row their boats all the way from here to the plant every morning
in all sorts of weather? He’d sure have a hard time arriving for the six a.m.
shift if he had to come so far. No one complained about it either. Everyone
just worked hard.

Maybe he really wasn’t king of Oyster Island. Without all
his workers, he’d have nothing. He should do something special once in a while
to thank them, he realized—a big picnic or holiday party.

Caleb rubbed his temples, his head aching from so much
thinking. That woman made him think too much, more than he ever had in his
life.

“Let’s head back now,” Henry said, “before we run out of gas
or get eaten alive by mosquitoes.”

“Just a bit farther,” Caleb insisted. He had to see her
place.

Around the bend, he spotted a shack with turquoise paint peeling
away to reveal large gray patches of wood. When he saw the Johnson name above
the door, his heart sank into the water. That had to be it. He could see gaps
in the walls and holes in the patched roof from here.

The thought of his Pearl living there nearly brought tears
to his eyes. Her mother had been a housekeeper in Annapolis, he recalled her
telling him. She’d worn nice clothes. What a comedown this must have been for
her, yet she never complained.

When shuffling footsteps sounded on the stairs leading from
the cabin below deck, Caleb clenched his hands together.

“You’re up. How do you feel, Mayor Carter?” Henry asked.

Caleb had hoped they’d get back to Oyster Island before the
mayor woke up. It wouldn’t be easy to explain this little detour. Again, he
found himself having to lie. The sensation of lead sinkers in his stomach was
beginning to feel familiar.

The mayor rubbed his gray head. “I feel lousy. Why did you
let me drink so much?”

Because he was easier to be around when he was unconscious,
Caleb thought.

Mayor Carter looked around and grimaced with disgust. “And
what the hell are we doing here? This is the colored section, for God’s sake.”

“We blew off course,” Henry said affably.

“It we get stuck, they’ll sink my yacht or try to steal it,”
Mayor Carter complained. “They can’t be trusted, you know.”

Caleb didn’t answer. The pompous man’s bigoted remarks had
always grated on his nerves but he’d never come so close to wanting to punch
him as he had today. Thank goodness fall was coming so he could get a break
from these fishing trips.