When Nina and Michael realised they were falling in love against some serious odds

He wiped away the teardrops sliding down her cheeks and caught them on his thumbs. Their gazes held. Then slowly, so slowly, he put his mouth to hers, tasting more tears until her lips parted in a long sigh. The kiss turned hot and hungry, blood pounded in his head as his hands moved down the soft skin of her throat to her breasts. Then she heard him groan. He pulled away from her, rolled on his back and flung his arm across his face. ‘Shit!’ ‘Hey, hey … look at me,’ Nina pleaded, cheeks burning and insides churning with turmoil and sweet longing. She hadn’t wanted him to stop but understood why he had … he was breaking God knew how many Church rules and she was as guilty as he was for encouraging him. ‘Look at me please, Michael, don't block me out. We were consoling each other, that's all.’ She gave him a shy smile. ‘Hey, I can see a cockerel strutting around, ready to launch into his early morning anthem, so we might as well get ourselves sorted out for the long trek back to Srinagar.’ Leaping to his feet, he reached out a hand to pull her to her feet. ‘Why’re you so bloody nice? Would you mind packing my gear, please? I want a word with Ravi about having a vasectomy.’ ‘But you can't! What about Humanae Vitae?’ ‘Humanae Vitae is the refusal of the Roman Catholic Church to enter the modern world! Ravi and Pushpa are living on the bread-line as it is, and there's no way they can afford to feed any more hungry mouths, let alone clothe them. None of these people can.’ His words dripped bitterness. ‘If Ravi won't agree to the chop, I'll give Pushpa the pill.’ ‘That's sacrilege! A priest can't go around handing out contraceptives and bricking men!’ ‘Wanna bet? Try me.’