Page 53 of Dukes Do It Better
“Are you always so cheerful?” Simon asked.
“You’ll get used to me,” Calvin said over his shoulder. In the next moment, he tensed, then slowed.
The change was remarkable. A complete shift from joking to being wary. Malachi followed his stare and saw the problem.
Across the grass, near the copse of trees edging the lawn, stood Lord Roxbury with two other men. It was impossible to know if he’d spotted Emma, but Malachi wasn’t going to let another minute pass before joining the others on the grass.
“I see him,” Malachi murmured.
“I want to rip his gizzards out through his throat,” Cal growled.
Malachi smiled darkly. So that’s what Calvin’s actual antagonism sounded like. “I like the way you think.”
“Who are we talking about?” Simon asked.
“A problem,” he answered at the same time Calvin said, “A cockroach.”
“I’m surprised to see him out and about. He has to have bruises from where I punched him last night.”
“You got to hit him? I’m jealous,” Cal said.
Malachi glanced back toward the blanket, and a chill invaded his heart. “Where are the children?”
Calvin muttered an oath.
Maybe it was his years on board ship, always preparing for the worst-case scenario, but Malachi instinctively searched the space between Emma and Roxbury, looking for the boys. With typical childlike enthusiasm, the two children were running in a haphazard pattern toward the tree line.
“Damn it, they’re heading toward him.” Malachi lengthened his stride toward the blanket to set down the food, and Calvin kept pace.
“Back in a moment,” Cal said to the ladies as they deposited plates and glasses on the edge of the picnic blanket, then headed directly toward Lord Roxbury and the two little boys wandering too close for comfort.
Malachi broke into a light jog, needing to get there faster but not wanting to alarm anyone or draw stares.
“My boots were not made for this,” Cal said, jogging alongside him.
“Complaining?”
“Not at all. Merely making an observation.”
“If that bastard says one word to Emma’s boy…” Malachi wished looks could kill. If so, he’d take care of Roxbury from this distance and ensure he never said a foul word to the innocent child the blackguard now had in his sight.
“Freddie, come along now. Food is ready,” Cal called. The unease behind the forced cheer rang through easily, but hopefully it would fool anyone within earshot. The young ones stopped and turned toward them, their eyes lighting up.
Lord Roxbury took a step toward Alton, and a primal rage roared through Malachi.
No. Way. In. Hell.
This man had laid hands on Emma the night before. If he expected to scare Alton the same way, Roxbury would end up with worse than a swollen jaw. Of all the people involved in their messy history, Alton was the only one completely blameless. In that moment, the only thing that mattered was getting Emma’s little boy out of there.
Pasting a smile on his face, Malachi sprinted the last few yards and held out his arms to Alton. Bless the innocence of youth, because the child didn’t question the affectionate gesture. Swooping Alton up in his arms, he said, “You look like a lad who needs lemonade.”
“And sandwiches with berries?” Alton asked, looping his thin arms around Malachi’s neck. An area near his heart clenched at the sweet, simple gesture. A few feet away, Cal did the same with Freddie, amid high-pitched squeals of joy.
“Of course.” Malachi tucked his forearm under Alton’s bum and held the boy close. Goodness, Alton’s feet didn’t even reach Malachi’s knees. One glance over his shoulder showed Roxbury watching them with the sharp eyes of a bird of prey. A satisfying bruise shadowed his jawline. Malachi let his animosity show on his face until Roxbury took a step back. It felt like a victory.
Between one breath and the next, Malachi sensed he’d passed some threshold. An invisible line past which he could no longer pretend to be in this relationship with Emma only for the sex. Not when he felt like a feral dog protecting her child, not when he was as content with watching her bake in his kitchen as he was with a tumble in bed.
This wasn’t what he’d planned for their relationship, and yet, here he was doing the exact opposite of running away.
