“Inside,” she panted and leaned forward to suck on his neck, punctuating it with a brief, sharp bite that jolted him.

Her words only made partial sense to him. He stared down at those hot-pink panties and then back up to her face. “Inside?” he asked, just as bleary as before. “Right now?”

She laughed and leaned forward to tug on his bottom lip with her teeth. “Inside my apartment.”

“Ah.” That made more sense. He let her slide down his body and took the keys that were still clutched in her hand. John studied her hand for just a moment, saw the imprint of a house key against her palm and realized that that, right there, was proof of how badly she wanted him. Bad enough to leave the outline of a key where she’d gripped it too hard. If it hadn’t been weird, he would have taken a photo of it. Instead, he kissed it and smoothly unlocked her door.

They were barely inside before she was tugging at his midnight tie, pulling at his buttons, throwing her purse in the direction of the couch, stumbling with the force of her throw.

Stumbling...

Shit. John put hands on her shoulders and steadied her, eyeing her. He’d seen her drink four beers while he’d been sitting with her, but she’d been at the bar when he’d gotten there. He’d had five drinks tonight. And no dinner. Which was about twice as much as he usually had if he was going to hook up with someone. And this wasn’t someone. This was Mary.

“Shit,” he cursed, raising his hands up to his hair and tugging. “Shit.”

“What?”

“Mary, we’re drunk.”

She frowned, shook her head and then laughed when she tipped slightly to the side. “Maybe just a little bit.”

“A little bit is too much if we’re really gonna do this.”

She eyed him, trying to figure out if he was bluffing. She must have read the sincerity on his face because she stepped back, her hands on her hips. “Shit,” she echoed him.

Suddenly, a look of horror came over her face. She took two steps back from him and stood in front of her door. She threw the dead bolt and then the chain lock. Slamming her back against the door, she tossed her arms out in a T. “You’re going to go, aren’t you? You can’t leave! No. Don’t go.”

The idea of him leaving was obviously panicking her. Whatever lusty beast inside him that had gotten its feathers ruffled at the idea of missing out on sex was instantly soothed. Because he couldn’t make love to her while they were drunk. But staying? Well, staying was absolutely something he could give her.

“Am I invited to stay?” he asked quietly.

“Yes.”

He shrugged his shoulders and held his arms out for a hug. “Then I’m staying.”