Page 67 of One Hot Moment

"No more delaying, Kenny. I want to know the truth about your drunken behavior."

He sighs and sinks down in his chair again, this time rubbing his eyes. "You know the Scots contingent arrived at Sommerleigh a few weeks ago. And I mentioned to you that Thane Buchanan would be there. He's the bloke who makes whisky up there in the Highlands." Kendall winces. "Very good whisky. It has some unique properties that Thane warned me about, but I assumed he was simply trying to sell his single malts. So, I tasted some of his whiskies. Thane Black Label is quite good, so I decided to try the new variants. They're...different. Apparently, women can almost orgasm from drinking Dùndubhan Masterpiece. That's what Thane calls his most recent single malt."

"What is Dùndubhan?"

"The castle that sits on a mountain called Beann Dealgach. Thane gets the water for his whisky from the river that flows down from the castle."

"That's interesting. But you still haven't explained your wildly drunken behavior. I'm quoting Arthur, the gent who drove us out here to Sommerleigh. He said you were trying to do a striptease on the lawn, but Hugh talked you out of it."

Kendall nods solemnly. "It's all true. After Rachelle doused me with cold water, I passed out. Woke up the next morning with a splitting headache. Dùndubhan Masterpiece ruined me."

"You can't expect me to believe a dram of single-malt Scotch turned you into a lunatic. Even drunk, you wouldn't try to strip naked in front of the Parrishes."

My brother bows his head, cradling his forehead in one hand. "That whisky also made me, ah, very randy. I tried to seduce Rachelle, but she wasn't having any of it. Hence, the aborted dance routine."

"Were you doing your old dance moves from Bodacious Nights?"

He nods.

"Oh, I see. But I still don't believe whisky could turn you into a randy goat. You drank too much and misbehaved, that's all."

Kendall lifts his head and narrows his gaze on me. "Maybe I should give you a glass of Dùndubhan Masterpiece. Then you'll see what I mean."

I jump out of my chair. "All right. Let's do that now."

My brother raises his brows, then stands up and leads me into the kitchen. A gray-haired woman gives us a strange look. Kendall glances at her as he reaches up to get a glass out of a cabinet. "Never mind us, Mildred. I'm showing my brother what Dùndubhan Masterpiece can do to a bloke."

Mildred's eyes widen. "Kendall, you shouldn't do that. If he's never tasted that whisky before, he might react badly like you did."

"Relax, Mildred. Spencer won't dance naked on the lawn." Kendall reaches into a lower cabinet, bringing out a bottle. I can read the words Dùndubhan Masterpiece on the label. My brother pours a dram and offers me the glass. "Go on, Spence. Prove me wrong."

I accept the glass and swirl the liquid inside it. Then I take a sniff. "It does have an unusual yet enticing aroma." I take a small sip. "Nice. It has an earthy---" I freeze as a sensuous warmth rushes through my veins. "Bloody hell."

Kendall chuckles. "It's hitting you already, isn't it? I warned you."

"Bugger me." I take another tiny sip, and that warmth spreads out into my extremities with arousing effects. I clap the glass down on the counter. "Excuse me, Kendall, I need to find Tabitha right now."

When I find her, we shag for an hour and don't bother trying to be quiet. Our room is at the end of the first-floor hall, so I doubt anyone heard us. Don't give a toss if they did hear. But I do not get drunk. Kendall drank far more than I ever would have, but at least now I understand why everyone told me I needed to come home to save Kendall.

If he'd drunk an entire bottle of Dùndubhan Masterpiece, he would have gone instantly insane. But he would've been one happy nutter.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Tabitha

From my seat in the front row, I watch as the groomsmen walk up to the altar and take their places alongside the groom. When Spencer finally asked his brother why Hugh was going to be the best man, Kendall told him nobody had asked his opinion on that topic. Of course he wanted Spencer to serve as best man. Kendall had lost all his nervousness about the wedding once his brother arrived to give him a morale boost. He talked Spencer into trying the notorious Dùndubhan Masterpiece, a single-malt whisky that makes everyone incredibly horny. That's not what I overheard someone else say. Spencer let me taste a little bit of that whisky.

All I can say is...whew. That stuff is lethal.

But it's the kind of lethal that makes a girl weak in the knees. Yeah, Spence and I had uh-may-zing sex that first night at Sommerleigh, thanks in part to Thane Buchanan's magical whisky. I ordered a few bottles from Thane's online store. They'll be shipped directly to our apartment. Yes, that's right. I'm giving up my apartment to move in with Spencer. We plan on visiting my family in Asheville at least every other weekend. We also invited Mom, Dad, and Sabrina to come to Arlington for a visit anytime they like.

Right now, they're sitting beside me in the front row, along with Hugh, Avery, Rosalyn, and of course, Spencer's brother and sister as well as his parents. Bindy punched Hugh in the arm when she saw him at Sommerleigh a few days ago. She was ticked that he'd made it sound like Kendall was in trouble. But she understood once everyone explained why they did that.

Tears begin to gather in my eyes as I watch Rachelle gliding up the aisle. She looks so beautiful in her white, off-the-shoulder gown that has tiny beads woven into it for a shimmery effect. The expression of pure love on her face gets me a little choked up.

My mom clasps my hand and whispers, "Soon, you'll be the one saying 'I do' in front of everyone who loves you."

Rachelle and Kendall are reciting their vows now, so I don't respond to what Mom said. I know it's true, though. I can feel it when Spencer makes love to me. We could wait an arbitrary length of time to tie the knot, but I can tell he wants to pop that question soon. And I'm sure he realizes I want to say yes.

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