“Don’t be thinking you’re all that high and mighty,” Seamus informed him haughtily. “I’ve been coming here for forty years. They love me.” Indeed, if one more person slapped him on the back, his dinner would probably come up.
Seamus set his hands on his satin-green hips. “I know a guy who knows a guy who can get us a bottle of McCallan. Fifty years old. Are you in?”
“Fuck yes,” Cade said, loudly enough that most of the attendees in our vicinity turned around. Once they took in the sheer size of the vampire, they discreetly turned away. Seamus led the way, Cade bringing up the rear, and I breathed a sigh of relief as the crowd swallowed them up.
“Do you really think inviting Cade her was a good idea?” I asked, watching him vanish. “I don’t want this lovely event to turn into anything…bloody.”
“He’ll be fine, Selena,” Bastian assured me, taking my hand and pressing a warm kiss to my palm, his tongue making a warm, wet circle against my skin. My toes curled in my Blahnik stilettoes.
“How much longer are we staying, again?”
“A few more minutes should do it, love.”
The last night always ended with some big industry announcement, but looking at Bastian in his kilt, I’d already decided I could read about it tomorrow. “Let’s go back to the hotel. Seamus can tell us about it over breakfast. If he remembers.”
“We’re staying,” Bastian told me firmly, wrapping his arms around my waist. “You never know when you might hear something that will change your life.”
“I’ve had enough life-changing events this year, thank you very much.”
But the past six months had been extraordinary. Between the Langston-Forge distillery and the Cameron Distillery in Perth, we’d spent most of the time flying back and forth across the Atlantic, balancing work with lots of play. Lots and lots of it.
My toes did the curling thing again.
Holloway’s faculties were intact, and thankfully he didn’t remember his kidnapping or the subsequent meeting with the Elder. We didn’t talk about Brandon, and I’d almost put the ordeal behind me, except for the occasional times it popped up out of nowhere.
Forge was always there for me. Always. As if he knew exactly what was going through my head, and how to help me. Closing my eyes, I leaned back into him, my steady rock that would always be there.
“Here we go,” Forge whispered, his breath tickling my ear. From across the room there was a shout, and a bright green arm with a dram shot into the air.
“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for attending the fiftieth whisky faire in Glasgow.” When the crowd died down, he went on. “This year we have a special announcement. Two distilleries, one in America, and one here in Scotland, will be merging. We will have a tasting of their flagship whisky tonight, enough for everyone, and it’s on the house.” The roar of the crowd welled up as my intuition tingled.
“What did you do, Forge?” I said over my shoulder.
“I’m back to Forge now, am I?”
“Yes, you are. What did you do?”
“I filed paperwork to make us the first transcontinental whisky business, the oldest American distillery.” He kissed the top of my head. “And the oldest Scottish one.”
The announcer hushed the crowd. “This is Alex’s final batch, and tonight, he will be honored by those who best appreciate his work.” The master of ceremonies lifted his glass high in the air, and the rest of the crowd followed suit. “To Alexander Langston, one of the world’s finest distillers, and a legend in his own right.”
Then I couldn’t see a thing as the room went blurry.
“Ach, don’t cry, love.” Forge murmured in my ear while he gathered me close. “Your da was all that and more. But I have a feeling that Selena Langston of Langston-Cameron distilleries is about to make her own mark on the world.”
If you enjoyed Devil’s Cut, check out
The Banished Gods Series
ALSO BY L.A. MCGINNIS:
The Banished Gods series:
Queen of Swords
The Moon
The Priestess
Death’s Daughter
The Lovers
The Tower
The World
The Mage Circle Trilogy:
Seacursed
Bloodcursed
Demoncursed
Holy City Vampires:
Shadows of Ghosts
Unrequited Heart
Echoes of Time (fall 2020)
