Page 78 of Limbo

When I unlock the door, the faint scent of citrus supports her claim of recently cleaning. All the off-white tiles glisten as steam fills the room. I set extra towels on the lower of the two bench seats wrapped around three-quarters of the room and find the Out of Order sign and a broom in the utility closet. I leave them inside the door and head back to the pool.

Everyone remains where I left them. I crouch down by the edge, and Jordan wades over with Cate on his shoulders.

“Rinse off. I’ll meet you in the steam room in ten minutes.”

Cate clambers onto the side as I stand up. She races to the hot tub to join Connor, which will keep her entertained and him busy for a while. I go out to the hallway and am walking into the locker room when Jordan catches my hand.

“Steam room?”

“No one under the age of sixteen is allowed. It’s against policy.” I back in, his eyes on me until I step around the corner.

The unfamiliar nerves reemerge as I walk down the hallway past the basketball court to the steam room. Actually, they started during my shower. Now they’re amplified, zipping through me. As I reach the end of the hall, I flip off the security camera on the wall above the door, just in case. I swear, Shayna’s cackle echoes from upstairs.

Reaching for the handle, I hesitate and take a deep breath before I pull it open. Jordan’s already waiting. He’s leaning back on the bottom bench, resting his elbows on the one behind him. “Hello, beautiful.”

That does the trick, the anxiety no match for him. I smile as I hang the Out of Order sign outside the door. I turn the knob, dimming the lights. A slight improvement in the romance department, right? As an extra precaution, I angle the broom through the door handle and brace it against the wall. He watches me jiggle the already-fogged-over door, proving it won’t open.

“What if there’s a fire?” he asks.

I motion to the steam surrounding us. “In the case of a fire, I think we’ll be safe.”

He chuckles and closes the distance between us. His lips reach me first, arms around my waist second. I rake my hands through his still-wet hair. Yet another irresistible look he pulls off with no effort. Although any without a shirt automatically earns a spot on the list.

He deepens the kiss, his tongue tasting sweet, like candy.

I break my mouth away from his. “Did you and Cate eat those fruit snacks after I told her no?”

When he grins, I sigh and back him to the bench until he sits down on his towel. The one wrapped around me drops to the floor. No complaints from him this time, he yanks me onto his lap, my knees landing on each side of him.

His eyes melt to the look I’ve been missing. “What are you doing to me, beautiful?”

I wonder the same of him, not sure I want the answer. I kiss his soft lips and across the stubble of his jaw to his smooth neck. He groans when my teeth graze his earlobe, and he takes over from there. A hand tangles in my hair and brings my mouth to his while his other hand traces the line of my collarbone in from my shoulder. My fingers trail up his chest, his down to mine. My back arches into him when he reaches my breast. Feeling him between my legs, I can’t remember ever wanting anyone as much as him. He flexes his hips in response to mine moving against him, but then he stops and tips his head up.

“Baby,” he says, out of breath, “you’re one hip thrust away from passing the outer realm of my restraint.”

I bite his lower lip and push my hips forward, challenging him. His head falls the rest of the way back. He closes his eyes and swallows hard while I continue trying to break his resolve, but other than the grip on my thighs creeping higher and stopping on my ass, he maintains strict control of himself. A slow journey up his exposed neck with my tongue finally gains a response. He groans but then quits moving altogether.

“Jordan,” I say. When he doesn’t respond, I try again. “Jordan?”

He lifts his head, keeping his eyes closed.

So damn dramatic.

I fish the condom out from where I tucked it between my hip and swim bottoms and set it in his palm. As soon as he realizes what he’s holding, his mouth curves into a smile before it collides with mine. All his patience gone, his tongue invades my mouth. I tug at the back of his hair, and his hands run up my sides. He pushes up my swim top, and I lose a breath. His lips leave mine as he slips the top over my head. My hair falls back over my shoulders, and he stops.

“Perfect,” he whispers.

He brushes his lips against mine, slow and gentle, unlike a minute ago. They stay unhurried, roaming over my skin. Even though I’m already warm from the steam, everywhere he kisses, touches, licks, and nips burns all the hotter.

When I slip my fingers inside the waistband of his swim trunks, he wraps an arm around me and stands to shove them off. He lowers us down again, and I hold the wrapper to his mouth. With a snarl, he bites the corner. I laugh, ripping it open, and press my forehead to his. He smiles that damn smile, and I have no choice but to accept how incredibly hard I will fall for him. Am falling. Have already fallen.

Our lips meet while I roll the condom onto him. Wanting him develops into an ache of needing him and spreads through me as he lifts me up onto my knees and slides my swim bottoms over. I ease down onto him until he’s all the way inside me. Jordan’s eyes fall shut, hazy when they stare up at me again. I grip his shoulders as I rise up and sink back down. He digs his fingers into my hips, urging them faster. As I move against him, he lets out a groan so loud that I clamp my hand over his mouth.

“Echoey halls,” I say, not stopping.

He mumbles into my palm. I eagerly replace the hand with my mouth, and another groan stays between us. The more he touches me, the more I need his hands, mouth, and breath all over my skin. My body craves his, and I can’t get enough, the desire building along with our pace.

I feel him tense beneath me, and he grasps my hips. He tries to slow us down, but I push his hands away, riding him harder.

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