“And to want to kiss you the next minute, too, is that normal?” I rasped, dipping in closer to her, feeling a little dizzy myself. I was on the verge of having a fuck it moment, but I stopped just short of letting my mouth touch hers at the memory she’d been drinking. “I’m sorry.” I straightened, pulling my arm away to rub my eyes to stop the emotions from breaking free. “I ruined your relaxed state. I’m sorry for that, too.”

“No,” she breathed out, “you didn’t. Alcohol is stronger than I am. It’ll take me down soon, and I’ll be powerless to stop it.”

I dropped my hand away from my eyes, worried about her. “What will happen beyond being relaxed?” Would she be as out of it as Alessandro on meds? I needed to focus on taking care of her, not let the bourbon I drank affect me.

“You’re about to find out.” She chewed on her lip and swayed as if the room spun.

“Hits you that fast?” I stepped forward and caught her waist.

“That fast.” She held on to my forearms and peered up at me.

“How about I get you to bed?” I offered. “I’ll order food, and you can rest until it’s here.” I watched her for another moment, wondering if I’d have to carry her into her bedroom, all the while trying to prevent my brain from imagining the many creative ways I wanted to make love to her.

Dangerous, that’s what she truly was to me.

Allowing me to feel too much. Too fast. Too everything.

Dangerous because in sixty seconds, she’d already made me forget I was supposed to be pushing her away in preparation of losing her.

She had me forgetting I didn’t deserve her.

Even worse, she was dangerous because she had me believing I did.

“Constantine?” She held onto my arms even tighter.

I placed my hands at her waist, drawing our bodies closer. “Yeah?”

“I may have had something to drink after that call,” she said in a soft voice, “but I didn’t run.”

I lowered my forehead to hers, my breath quickening as that truth settled in my mind. That should have been my first thought, but I was so accustomed to thinking of worst-case scenarios that I forgot there were other ways to respond.

“How are you already changing me, and it’s only been since Wednesday that you came back into my life?” I lifted my head and hands, touching her face. The pads of my thumbs swept over her high cheekbones as I stared into her eyes.

“Well, that’s fairly easy to answer, even with bourbon in me.” She hiccuped, and her lips tipped into a shy smile of embarrassment. “It’s because I’m not changing you. People don’t change that fast.”

“No? What is it, then?”