PluckingthePearl

by Afton Locke

  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.

  “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 i
nsisted.

  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.