Crush - KarEena

Chapter 30

She didn't remember it ever raining this hard in February. Today's aberrant weather would probably set state records. The clouds had rolled in from the northwest at about two o'clock, providing unexpected and welcome relief from the sun and heat. But it wasn't a passing thundershower. It had begun as a hard, steady rain and hadn't let up.

Haseena sat on a hay bale with her back propped against the door of Zed's empty stall. Beyond the barn door, the rainfall looked like a grey curtain. Gullies had been gouged into the hard, dry earth. Channels of rainwater-filled puddles that had formed in natural depressions. The rain had washed away the tyre tracks left by the cattle truck that Mahipal had arranged to haul off the carcasses.

Carcasses. Her beautiful horses. All that magnificent power, beauty, and grace reduced to carcasses. She wept without restraint, sobbing audibly, shoulders shaking. Her heart was broken. Not only for her loss, which was enormous but for the sheer cruelty of the act. She wept over the deliberate waste of those five beautiful, living creatures.

She wept to the point of exhaustion. When her weeping subsided, she remained as she was, listless, eyes closed, tears drying on her cheeks, listening to the hypnotic patter of raindrops striking the roof.

The sounds of Karishma's approach were eclipsed by the rainfall, but Haseena sensed her presence. She opened her eyes and saw Karishma standing in the open doorway of the barn, seemingly unaffected by the torrent beating down on her.

Karishma had offered to assist with the removal of the carcasses but had been reluctant to leave her alone. Mahipal had suggested calling his wife to sit with Haseena, but Haseena had declined. She'd wanted to be alone for a while. Karishma had seemed to understand that and had honoured her wishes.

Nevertheless, Karishma had asked a constable to remain parked at Haseena's gate until her return and had told Haseena to stay inside the house, rifle nearby, with the door bolted. And for a while, Haseena had complied. But the barn had seemed the only appropriate place in which to mourn. Taking a shawl from the sofa, she had used it as protection from the rain as she ran to the barn. Either the constable hadn't seen her or had elected to leave her undisturbed.

Taking advantage of the solitude, she had grieved for each of the animals individually, then as a group. They had been her family. She had loved them as children. And now they were gone. Destroyed maliciously.

She didn't know how long she'd been here in the barn alone, but Karishma would consider any amount of time too long. Karishma would be angry at her for leaving herself unprotected. Karishma stepped inside and started down the centre aisle.

Karishma's boots squished rainwater. It had plastered the old T- shirt to mould her skin, making the shape of her torso. Her blue jeans were soaked through, too, and clung to her legs. Her hair was dripping rainwater and lay flat against her skull.

Karishma stopped a few feet away from Haseena. Contrary to what she had expected, Karishma's expression wasn't angry, but anguished. Karishma's eyes weren't hard with annoyance, but soft with compassion. Karishma stretched out her hand, clasped hers, and pulled her to her feet. Before her next heartbeat, she was in Karishma's arms and her mouth was possessively taking hers.

This time she gave herself over to it. Haseena went with what had been her inclination the first time Karishma had kissed her. Mouth, hands, body-all responded. She pushed her fingers up through Karishma's wet hair and clutched her head, kissing Karishma back hotly and hungrily, with desire finally unleashed.

She worked the clinging T-shirt up Karishma's chest and ran her hands over Karishma's wet skin, enmeshing her fingers in the curled hair. Then she dipped her head and kissed Karishma's chest, her lips skipping over it lightly, greedily. Hissing swears words of surprise and arousal, Karishma's hand closed around her jaw, lifted Haseena's mouth back up to Her's, and made love to it.