Read Online PluckingthePearl by Afton Locke - Free Book Online Page B

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.

Chapter Five
     
    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