Hiding Katherine GG Shalton (the read aloud family txt) 📖

her hand and helped her down the side, so they could relax on the edge of the river. Not a lot of room, but enough to put their basket and lay out a blanket to relax. “What is this place?”

“We call it Private Rock. My brother Eli and I discovered it when were kids on one of our visits. It’s our secret place—we have never told anyone about it. If others know about it, no one has ever mentioned it.”

Ian began to remove his boots. He then disrobed, and Katherine turned a bright shade of pink. “What are you doing?”

He gave her a crooked smile. “There is a hidden cave behind the waterfall that I want to show you. You better take your clothes off or you will get soaked.”

“I am not taking off my clothes. What if someone sees us?”

“No one will see us.” He stood in front of her with his clothes off, not an ounce of modesty. He turned to the water wading into it up to his buttocks then turned back to face her. Ducking his head beneath the surface, he came up for air with his long hair dripping with water.

“Well?” he asked in amusement, shaking the water out of his hair.

“I can’t swim.”

“I can. I will carry you through the water. Don’t be afraid.”

She shook her head in denial. “Ian, I can’t take off my clothes with you staring at me like that.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes, please turn around.”

He made a grunting noise and turned away. Katherine quickly removed her gown and shoes but kept her shift on. There was no way she was going out there in that water in the middle of the woods completely naked.

She walked into the water and reached his back. Touching him, she whispered, “You can turn around now.”

He turned around immediately losing the smile on his face. “What are you wearing?”

“My shift. I don’t mind if it gets wet.”

He pulled her toward him and kissed her on top of the head. “I am not sure how long you will be able to keep it on.” She laughed out loud and allowed him to carry her through the water.

Ian took a deep breath looking at his wife in his arms. Her wet shift stuck to her body and was very transparent. He tried to concentrate on swimming to the waterfall instead of her voluptuous curves. She was oblivious to her own attractiveness. The water came down hard by the falls and he turned to Katherine saying, “We will need to go under the water together, so you have to hold your breath.”

She clamped her arms tighter around his neck. “I don’t think I can go under, Ian. What if you let go of me?”

Her fear was evident in her eyes. He couldn’t imagine letting anything happen to her. He kissed her nose. “Listen, Wife. I am here to protect you. I promise I won’t let go.”

She bit her bottom lip but nodded her head. He liked her resilience and trusting nature. “I am going to count to three. On three, hold your breath and I will swim under the water with you.”

“One, two, three.” He ducked under the water, swimming with her under the waterfall. When they surfaced on the other side, she came up coughing.

He chuckled. “You’re supposed to hold your breath.”

She spit out more water and laughed. “Easy for you to say.”

He swam to the side and placed her on top of a ledge. He pulled himself up and watched her as she gazed at the beauty of the rock formations. He was not disappointed as her mouth fell open at the sight.

“I have never seen such beauty.” She reached out touching the rocks. “Who knew this was under the waterfall?”

“I know. Eli and I were astonished and made it our ambition to ditch the other brothers and come here when we could. I am not sure why we kept it our secret. I guess it was fun to have an adventure that was different than the others.”

“I am happy you brought me here.”

He reached over and cupped her face, brushing a kiss against her lips. Knowing their time was limited, he held out his hand to take her back to the horse. “It’s cold here out of the sun. Let’s go back out to the river and lay on the blankets.”

Katherine gave him her hand, and they swam back to the blankets. He wrapped one around them both and sat her on his lap, so it would cover them. “I wish we could stay like this forever.”

“I know. Just you, me, and our children.” She snuggled closer to him, the wet shift rubbing against his chest. “How many children do you want?”

He ran his hands up her thighs and pulled at the shift. “You must take this off. It needs a minute to dry. I will keep the blanket over us and keep you warm.” She allowed him to pull it over her head and they lay down beside their clothes. She huddled under the blanket with him.

He enjoyed her closeness and knew it was only a matter of time before he touched her again. She was irresistible to him. “I want as many as God will give us. Hopefully many sons. But I wouldn’t mind a daughter as well.”

“A little Ian running around. Is that what you want to name our first son?”

He ran his fingers over her arm. “Not our first one. I made a promise to a man named Daniel that I would name my first son after him. He saved my life and I owe him. I remembered his name from the stories of Daniel in the Bible. He taught me a lot of skills and how to control the enemy with my mind and not just my sword. He honored me, and I would like to honor him.”

“Daniel. I like that name.”

He kissed her arm where he had been rubbing and moved his mouth up to her shoulders,