The Fire You Hold (Heritage Series Book 2)

by Ciana Stone

  The warmth of his hand against her, the feel of the calluses on his hands that gave his touch a slight roughness, sent a shiver of need over her. A moment later she felt his fingers parting her, then pressing inside. Naomie pulled back from the kiss and looked directly into his eyes, not letting her gaze leave his as he stroked her to orgasm.

  She rocked against his hand, her hands tightening on her own legs as the climax peaked. "You are so incredibly beautiful," Russell's voice was a rough growl as his hands moved to her hips and held tight.

  Naomie's hands moved from her legs to his abdomen and then moved lower. His hands tightened on her a split second after she gripped his erection through the fabric of his shorts. "And you are the sexiest man I've ever known."

  "Hold on," he protested when she opened the fly of his shorts.

  "Shhh," she smiled, scooted lower and knelt between his legs so she could lean over and lick him.

  "Naomie, we can't do– Good god," he leaned his head back as her mouth closed on him.

  The combination of seeing her on her knees, ass up and mouth on him, the danger of being discovered and the fact that he was so worked up he could hardly breathe, robbed him of the ability to call a halt to what was happening.

  When he felt that sensation letting him know he wasn't going last much longer, he reached for a towel then pushed her back as he covered himself with the soft white towel. Naomie braced her hands on either side of his head and leaned in to kiss him.

  Russell pulled her down on him and to his surprise before the kiss ended he was hard and ready to go again. That hadn't happened in a while.

  Naomie sat up and smiled at him. "A girl could get addicted to you, Mr. Walker."

  "I swear I'm going to–"

  "Spank me?" she leaned over and nipped his chest lightly. "You do keep promising."

  "You mean threatening."

  "Oh no, sugar, I mean promising. I have no doubt it would be a stimulating experience."

  Russell laughed and pulled her down on him again. "Will you please come home with me, Naomie?"

  "Yes."

  "To stay?"

  "That depends."

  "On?"

  "On why you want me there."

  "You know why."

  She shook her head and sat to pick up her glass. "Do I? Then tell me."

  "There you are!" Amber's voice had Naomie looking over her shoulder.

  "Hey," she greeted Amber who stood just outside the small canopy. "I thought you weren't going to be back until tonight?"

  "I got bored and came back early." She plopped down in the free lounge. "Hey, Uncle Russ."

  "Amber."

  She looked at them. "Am I interrupting something?"

  "Yes," Naomie said at the same moment Russell said "No."

  Naomie cut him a sharp look then climbed off his lap and sat beside Amber. "Rum?" She offered Amber her glass.

  "Sure thanks. So, Uncle Russ, you'll be happy to know I spoke with Mom and Dad and they know I'm alive and well."

  "You could have saved them a world of worry if you'd done that to begin with."

  "Really? You're going to sit there and lecture me? You're as bad as Dad, you know that? I'm not a child. Haven't been for a while. I travel the world and do quite fine on my own so what makes me taking a vacation and going silent for a few days such a big deal?"

  "Didn't Rich tell you?"

  "He said you would."

  "Oh great, he lays it off on me."

  "We're famous for passing the buck so what's the deal?"

  "You're going to have to ask your dad. It's not my place or my story no matter what he said."

  Just then Russell's phone rang. He fumbled around and located it. "Nash? What's up?" His gaze went to Naomie as he listened and she could see anger and concern mount. "Yeah," he finally spoke. "As soon as we can. Bye."

  He put the phone down and swung his legs over the chaise to sit up. "We have to go."

  "Why?" Naomie asked.

  "Harley was helping Rusty with his roping when a cougar leapt the paddock fence. Had it not been for Harley, Rusty might have been mauled. We need to get back, get an necropsy of the cat and make sure we don't have stock unattended."

  "You do know that even if your pilot gets clearance to take off in two hours, it will be the middle of the night when you get back, right?" Amber asked. "It's half past eight now."

  "Then we'll get back in the middle of the night." Russell stood and looked at Naomie. "Are you coming back with me?"

  Naomie thought about his reaction when Amber arrived. Was that just another display of what he really felt about their relationship? That it was fine when they were away from everyone they knew but when they weren't he didn't want anyone to know there was anything between them?"

  "You tell me, Mr. Walker. Why would I go home with you?"

  She could tell the question angered him and knew it was less than kind to put him on the spot, but she was tired of the push and pull. Either he wanted her, or he didn't. It was time to step up or step away.

  Russell's eyes narrowed for a moment. "Because I need you to."

  "For what? To do an necropsy on the cougar?"

  "You know why."

  "Obviously I don't, or I wouldn't have to ask."

  "Uh, should I leave?" Amber asked.

  "No," Naomie said at the same time Russell said "yes."

  Amber held up her hands. "You people need to get on the same page."

  "Yes, we do." Naomie agreed. "So, what is it, Mr. Walker?"

  "Please come home with me, Naomie. I–" he cut a quick look at Amber, then turned his gaze back to Naomie. "Damn it all, woman, I'm crazy in love with you, and I need you with me. Is that clear enough?"

  "Absolutely," she stood, smiled, and kissed him before turning to look at Amber. "Want to hitch a ride?"

  "Yes, please. Can I prevail on you to get your pilot to take me back to DC after dropping you guys off in Texas."

  "Yes, of course," Russell agreed.

  "Then let's get moving," Amber said and winked at Naomie. "It was a hell of a good vacation, eh, partner?"

  "Oh it definitely had it moments," Naomie agreed.

  Chapter Twenty

  Amber was the first one out of the car after Russell pulled up in front of Naomie's cottage. Naomie opened her door and held out the key to Amber "Here."

  "Thanks. And thanks for the lift, Uncle Russ. See you – later."

  "Sleep well," Russell responded, then looked at Naomie. "I'm sorry the night had to end this way."

  "There'll be other nights," she said and leaned over to kiss him. "And you don't have to go to the main house."

  "I probably should. I need to check–"

  "Nope," she pushed the ignition button. "Come on, you're staying with me."

  "Amber's staying with you," he pointed out. "And Harley as well."

  "And I have three bedrooms, so get out and come sleep with me. You need rest and if I don't put you in the bed you'll be up all night checking on patrols, and god knows what."

  "How'd you get to know me so well, so fast?"

  "I am an extremely brilliant and intuitive woman," she teased and kissed him again, slowly. "Please let me sleep in your arms. I promise to be good."

  "Somehow that statement doesn't bring comfort, but how can I refuse the woman I love?"

  That took her aback. "You meant it?"

  "You know I do."

  "Then let's go to bed. It'll be dawn in a few hours, and we have to hit the ground running."

  "Fine." He got out of the SUV and walked around to meet her and walk up the front steps. "Are you sure you're up to doing a necropsy after just a few hours sleep?"

  "I'll manage," she opened the door and covered the yawn she couldn't suppress. "Sorry, I guess I'm more tired than I realized."

  "Then to bed with you," he said a moment before he lifted her into his arms.

  She'd slept with him before, fully dressed and on top of the covers. Tonight, however, they both strippe
d down to their underwear and climbed under the sheets. As he spooned up behind her, wrapping an arm over to hold her, Naomie's last thought was how wonderful it would be for this to be the way she went to sleep every night.

  *****

  By ten in the morning, the necropsy was complete, and Naomie had gone over the geological reports and spoken with the State Wildlife Commission about the cougar. She finished typing the necropsy notes, pushed her chair back and stood to stretch.

  That’s when the outside door opened. "I'm betting you could use a break," Russell said as he walked in, carrying a basket in one hand.

  "What's that?"

  "DeLyn's fresh banana bread and coffee."

  "Oh, my hero."

  Russell smiled, set the basket on a spare table and removed a big thermos of coffee. "Here," Naomie handed him two mugs. He poured the coffee and gave her a cup.

  She took a drink and gestured to the computer. "There's a lot I need to tell you. Want to sit?"

  "Sure."

  They took seats in front of the bank of monitors on her oversized workstation, and she called up the necropsy report. "First, the animal wasn’t rabid, so that's a relief. It was, however, quite malnourished and shouldn’t have been. It was tagged a year ago in the hill country, three hundred miles from here."

  "How the hell did it get here?"

  "From what I can determine, it was drugged. There were still traces of sedatives in its tissue and blood."

  "That makes no sense."

  "I agree. When I spoke with one of the officers, he pulled the data and this cougar, along with five others vanished two weeks ago. No one knows why or how, only that their tags stopped transmitting for three days. Wildlife in Cray County picked up the signal two days ago for three hours and then the transmissions stopped and haven't gone back online."

  "Wonder why?"

  "The transmitter had been shorted out. Purposely."

  "At the risk of being repetitive, why?"

  "That's a good question. All I can tell you is the cat must have been caged and starved, or it wouldn't have acted the way it did. It had to have been released near here, or it would have hunted in the wild rather than risk going near humans."

  "So, you're saying someone deliberately set cougars loose?"

  "It would seem so."

  "To what end?"

  "To cause trouble, fear? Who the hell knows, but honestly I think whoever is responsible has a clear cut goal."

  "Which is?"

  "To make it appealing for you and Kal to sell your land."

  "That'll be a cold day in hell. And let's say it's true. The question remains… why?"

  "Because of the geological survey. I went over it. What do you know about Thorium?"

  "Nothing. What is it?"

  "Okay, here we go," she said and took a drink of coffee. "In the simplest terms, Thorium is a radioactive chemical element. In theory, it could be used to generate large quantities of low-carbon electricity. If you compare it to the uranium we use to power our nuclear plants today, thorium is more abundant and widely distributed in the Earth's crust."

  "So, your friend discovered Thorium?"

  "Yes. A lot of it."

  "I'm no expert, but I do remember reading that Uranium is pretty abundant as well, so what makes Thorium of particular interest?"

  "At present, nothing. At least not here. People are working on using thorium as a fuel in various reaction designs in India like light-water and fast breeder reactors, but nothing's being done here in the US."

  "Because?"

  "Because you still need uranium or plutonium in a reactor that uses thorium. It's not a fissile material so it can't start or sustain a chain reaction. A thorium reactor would require enriched uranium or plutonium to initiate the chain reaction and sustain it until enough of the thorium has converted to fissile uranium to maintain it.

  "Additionally, if you use plutonium as the initiator, you set up proliferation risks."

  "Explain."

  "Okay. To make a thorium reactor work you have to mix the thorium with plutonium that's been stripped of radioactive fission products. You use the mixed-oxide thorium-plutonium fuel in a reactor where the plutonium atoms fission and produce power while the thorium atoms absorb neutrons and are turned into uranium-233. You then strip the fission products from the uranium-233 and mix that with thorium in order to continue the cycle.

  "Thus in this phase, the U-233 atoms fission and produce power while the thorium atoms absorb neutrons and generate more U-233. And so the cycle continues, generating more and more fission produce wastes."

  "Okay, I think. So, thorium could be used but isn't being used, and this means what for us?"

  "I'm not sure. Like I said I know work is happening in India on thorium reactors, and there have been a couple of grants awarded here to companies to study the viability, but I don't think there's been much forward momentum because of fears of someone getting their hands on any substantial amount of U-233."

  "What would anyone want with it?"

  "It's excellent weapons-grade material. Unlike any other kind of uranium fuel, its one hundred percent enriched from the outside and so is an excellent weapons-grade material and as effective as plutonium-239 for making nuclear bombs. As you can imagine, this makes it very proliferation-prone and a tempting target for theft by criminal and terrorist organizations, as well as for use by national governments in creating nuclear weapons."

  "Okay, I'm starting to see a picture emerge. Our land and Kal's land that adjoins us has a rich supply of thorium, correct?

  "Yes."

  "And it's dollar value?

  "A hundred and fifty per ounce or thereabouts."

  "And this survey estimates a yield of how much from the property in question?"

  "About three billion dollars' worth- give or take a few million."

  Russell was quiet for a few moments and she could tell he was digesting the information she'd provided. "Okay," he finally spoke. "That kind of money would make it tempting for someone to try and force us to sell. But, and this comes from someone who knows very little about nuclear power. What're the chances that someone would need to gain a monopoly on this element? Isn't it a bit far-fetched to suppose that the technology would suddenly present itself to make thorium generated power viable?"

  "Yes. Or no. That's the problem, I don't know. It's not my area. In theory, someone could have worked out the problems and have a model that would be viable. But they'd need government approval."

  "And let's say someone with very deep pockets did have a model. How much do you think it would cost to build such a reactor?"

  Naomie thought about the question for a moment."I don't know – use a typical nuclear reactor as a base – so around fourteen billion. But the thing is, there are still problems with thorium reactors. They still produce radioactive waste so the only thing I can see that makes them appealing is the production of U-233."

  "Weapons grade uranium, correct?"

  "Yes."

  "There are a lot of powers on this planet who would find it appealing to control the production of that."

  "I know."

  "Well, they won't be extracting thorium from Heritage. And I'm betting Kal would tell anyone who wanted his property to go shove it."

  "I agree, but there are two scenarios we have to consider. First, do you and he own the mineral rights, or have you left that in the hands of the state?"

  "We own all the mineral rights on every inch of Heritage land. I don't know about Kal. And I see what you're getting at. If we don't hold the mineral rights, we're vulnerable. But you said there are two scenarios, so what's the second?

  "Just that someone could make a case against him that there is radioactive material beneath the ground and someone with enough money and clout might just be able to shoot his goal for a green city into the dirt with such talk."

  "Shit, you're right. So, what do we do?"

  "We find out who's in the market for thorium and you speak with
your brother to see what you can find out about people getting cozy with the administration for the rights to construct thorium reactor plants."

  "This is messed up, Naomie. And even if someone is trying to kill Kal's deal and make it appealing for Heritage to sell that parcel of land that is being contaminated, what about all the other stuff?"

  "Maybe it’s just distraction or disruption or just to keep everyone running around and upset while the enemy gets things lined up. I don't know, I wish I did. All I know is Kal isn't guilty of anything except loving Cici, and I hope you can see that."

  "I do."

  "And will you tell Kal?"

  "Yes. As a matter of fact, why don't we go do that now?"

  "Sure. Just let me rinse out these mugs. Will you grab the basket?"

  "Yep."

  Two minutes later they were headed for the main house. "God, it's a gorgeous day," Naomie turned her face up to the sun. "Amber told me you have a place on the beach around Corpus Christi."

  "Yes."

  "Do you ever go there?"

  "It's been a while. When the kids were little Mom and Dad, and I would take them for a couple of weeks every summer. Nash takes Rusty there in the summer, and Mom and Dad typically went with him."

  "And you?"

  "I haven't been in a while. Would you like to go?"

  "Are you kidding? I love the beach. Moonlight swims get to me."

  "Then I'll have to take you for a long weekend soon."

  "I'd like that."

  "Naomie, can you think of any reason someone would personally attack us the way they have? With the poisoning and shootings, arson and now wild animals? Who would hate us enough to do that sort of thing?"

  "I don't know. Honestly, it doesn't make sense."

  "No, it doesn't and it damn sure needs to stop."

  "I couldn't agree more."

  They were nearing the barn when a car horn behind them made them step to one side of the drive. Kal pulled up beside them. "I didn't expect either of you would be up so early."

  "We've been up since six," Russell said. "Naomie did the necropsy of the cat and went over the geological survey. And I need to say something to you, Kal. I know you aren't responsible for any of what's happened to us the last six months or so. You're as much – hell, maybe more a victim and I apologize for doubting you. I think my daughter chose wisely and I'm proud to have you as a son-in-law."