Mail Order Bride (Novel)

Chapter 12: Taking stock

Daise came wandering into my office about two hours later. She looked a lot better; her hair was washed and her face was scrubbed clean. She also seemed to be a lot calmer. I was on the phone, and I waved her towards the guest chair.

"Hi Daise," I greeted her when I had put the phone down, "sleep well?"

"Yes thank you. In fact, I haven't slept that well in a long time. Was that Sgt Major Dhlamini?"

"Yes. How did you know?"

"I guessed. It was kind of easy though because you use a different voice when you speak to him. Sort of your 'command voice'. You don't tell him what to do or ask him, you just say 'This is going to happen.' and everyone knows that they had better do whatever they have to do to make it so."

"And how did you know it was the Sgt Major and not someone else?"

"I noticed when you spoke to him last night, that you both have a deep affection for each other. It comes through in under-tone of what you say."

"Scary," I laughed.

"What's been happening? I can see in your eyes that you are still furious about what I told you. When you laugh, it doesn't as far up as that."

"The short version is that Alina will be on a plane in a few hours and she will get here the day after tomorrow. I..."

I couldn't continue. I was interrupted by a screech of excitement.

"She is coming here?"

"Yes, the flight is booked and she should board soon. I spoke to her earlier."

Daise jumped up from the couch and sprang into my lap, wrapping her arms around me and planting a very happy kiss on my mouth. Before that could get too interesting, she pulled back and said "Thank you, thank you more than I can tell you."

I spent a few seconds just enjoying this bundle of very sexy woman squirming on my lap, then said "It's my pleasure."

Daise suddenly seemed to realise where she was and what she was doing, because she blushed beet-red and stiffened up a bit, then it was as if she had made up her mind and she relaxed again. She turned her face up to mine and pulled me down towards her. I was a little conflicted, as I didn't want to have gratitude too mixed up in this, but I had been wanting to kiss her perfect mouth since I had first seen her walking into the arrivals hall at the airport.

I bent down further and our lips met gently at first. I nibbled at her lower lip opened my mouth to allow her tongue to slip in. We kissed like this, with tongues invading each other mouths, for some time. I was getting more and more aroused but pulled back with a conscious effort.

"Wow," I said, "let me try to catch my breath."

"Mmm," Daise said dreamily, her eyes still closed, "I have wanted to do that since I first saw you in the airport."

"You too?" I laughed. "I could do a lot more of that, but I think we have to focus on a few other very important things first."

"What could be more important?" Daise asked with an arch look.

"Well, staying alive mostly."

"I don't know how you say such funny things with a straight face."

"Unfortunately, in this case, it was easy because I was being entirely serious. I told Alina to dump her phone and go straight to the airport once she has a visa. She isn't even going back to your apartment for a tooth-brush. I am concerned that the two of you will be traced. I meant to ask you, is there someone that you could trust to go to your apartment and collect anything there of sentimental value and post it to you here?"