Houston, We Havea Problem

Warning: By popular demand, this chapter contains sexual content.

"Son, a man makes decisions for himself. And then he wears the rewards, or consequences, of his choices with integrity." Though his father had imparted the wisdom when Dave was just a punk ass junior high kid, reaking havoc back in San Francisco, he had never forgotten them.

He was a passionate man by nature, giving himself whole-heartedly to whatever goal he had set his mind to ascertain. Whether it was women or wrestling, he could honestly say that he had never regretted surrendering himself to the desires that had taken him over at different stages of his life.

He bore the scars of two surgeries that had threatened to end his career, symbols of the choices he had made to continue pushing even when his body said it was time to take a break. But he had also worn gold, signifying to the world that the work he had done to get to the pinnacle of his business had all been worth it. He sported two tattooes, one on his bicep and one on his stomach, that proclaimed his undying love for women that were no longer a part of his life. But he also had three daughters who constantly reminded him that throwing himself head-long into love was not the wrong decision.

As Jennifer lie on his chest in the bed of their hotel room, a sweaty heap from the hours they had already spent surrendering to carnal desire, Dave smiled down on her. Sure, he'd been burned twice before. But even if he tried, he knew he couldn't convince himself that loving her was a bad idea.

"What's that?" Jennifer asked, lazily touching the bandage on his wrist as he laced his fingers through hers. "And how did I not notice it until now?"

Licking his lips, Dave raised and eyebrow as she lifted her head just enough to meet his eye. "You were a little preoccupied," he laughed softly.

She tried to slap him, but it amounted to nothing more than raising her hand a few inches and then resting it back against his skin. "Did you hurt yourself?" she asked, her eyes trailing to his arms again.

"Nah," Dave assured her. "New tat," he sighed, tightening his grip around her waist. The way she shifted against his body, her soft, damp skin trailing against his as she struggled to sit, made his heart jump.

When she finally managed to lean against the headboard, Jennifer raised their joined hands to her line of vision and then smiled at Dave. "Can I see?"

He shrugged and moved himself into a seated position as well. "Ya know, I promised my girls I wouldn't get anymore ink," he chuckled slightly.

Jennifer ran her fingers over the Fillipino and Greek flags on his left shoulder. "I love your tattoos," she whispered, moving forward just enough to press her lips against the art. "They're beautiful."

Just the sound of her voice turned his stomach into a flaming pit of desire. Coupled with the touch of her tender kiss against his muscle, Dave marvelled at how his body was ready to take her once again, even after the hours they had already spent exploring each other.

Carefully untaping the bandage from his left wrist, Dave peeled the guaze away from the freshly inked skin and waited for her reaction.

Jennifer looked at the bright red letters, centered perfectly on his dark skin. JCH. Jennifer Crystal Houston. Unsure if it was the magic of the time they had already spent in this romantic little room, with the candles and the 700-thread-count sheets, or the realization that he had actually cemented their relationship in ink, Jennifer found herself overcome with emotion.

Dave watched the tears pool in her eyes before rotating his arm. There, once again centered over his vein, were four more sets of letters. The first and third sets were a brilliant purple, the second and fourth a bright fuschia. Jennifer could only assume that the first three were his daughters, because the fourth she recognized instantly. KGH. Keegan Grace Houston.

Though she wanted to say something intelligent, all Jennifer could manage to breathe was "Why?"

Without hesitation, he raised his right hand to her cheek and rubbed her jaw with his thumb. "Because I love you. And no matter what happens from here on out, you are a part of me that I will take with me forever."

She traced her thumb over the scabbed letters of her daughter's name and then raised her eyes again, the question clear though she couldn't form the words over the lump in her throat.

"I don't know what happened with Keegan's dad," Dave started, hoping the speech came out better than he had rehearsed it in the tattoo chair two days ago. "And I don't ask questions, because I know it's none of my business. But I love my daughters, Jen. You know that." She nodded and nibbled on her bottom lip as she raised her eyes to his, fighting to control the tears pooling there. "And as far as I'm concerned, Keegan is one of them now."

The nagging feeling that usually came over her when the question of Keegan's father came up was nonexistent in that moment. It didn't even matter anymore. Not when Dave was looking at her with such adoration and affection. Not when he was talking about her daughter as if Keegan was their own. And as far as Jennifer was concerned, Dave was as much a father as her little girl had ever known, and more of a daddy than Jennifer could ever dream of giving her.

"I love you," she whispered, voicing the only coherent thing that popped into her head.

It had only been three months since they started dating, but they both knew that time didn't matter. They had both been in dead-end relationships before, and this one was as wide open as anything they had ever experienced.

Pulling her face to his, Dave kissed Jennifer with a fervent need to express every emotion his words, and his tattoos, could never manage. He slid his tongue between her lips and gently circled hers, until she moaned and tilted her head, grasping his hair with a hunger.

Sliding down on the bed once again, Jennifer felt her thighs parting of their volition when Dave rolled his body over hers. As her legs wrapped around his waist, she sighed and gasped for air while he trailed wet kisses down her neck and into the hollow of her throat. When his left hand bushed down her side and into the heated moisture between her legs, she groaned loudly and gripped his shoulders until she felt his skin giving in to the force of her fingernails.

Dave's lips latched onto Jennifer's breast, and he flickered his tongue over the hardening bud as she continued to writhe against his fingers. Her gutteral moans were making him harder than he ever remembered being, so without warning, he plunged deep into her waiting wetness, causing her tiny body to arch off the bed.

"God dammit!" she called toward the ceiling as her hands automatically flew to the pillows on either side of her.

Raising his head, he bent toward her ear and whispered, "Hold on to me, baby," before sucking her lobe betweem his lips. When she desparately clung to his sides, he began to thrust inside her slowly, filling her completely and then withdrawing, only to repeat the process at a painstakingly wonderful pace.

If ever there was such a thing as an out-of-body experience, Jennifer was having it. The throbbing sensation of Dave inside her was the only thing her body would comprehend. Even as she muttered, groaned, screamed, and pleaded for more, she was unsure of what was actually coming out of her mouth. The fact that he was continuing to whisper in her ear only heightened her arousal beyond it's already frenzied state.

As his speed increased, Jennifer's body began to lift off of the bed, as though she were floating toward him. Though he had never been an overly-sentimental man, he couldn't deny that the tears collecting behind his eyes were less about the constricting pleasure of her tight core, and more about the love he couldn't help feeling for her.

He'd had one night stands. He'd had meaningless sex, sometimes with women who new everything there was to know about the technicalities and intricacies of good sex. He'd had his mind, and his shaft, blown by some indescribable women in his time. But no one would ever convince Dave that any of them held a candle to Jennifer. As her body stiffened in his arms and spasmed around him, he knew that making love to her different, even from the women he had genuinely loved.

Maybe the third time was the charm. Maybe the others had all been trial runs for this moment. But as he released with a primal growl and then collapsed against her heaving chest, Dave believed there was nothing that would change his connection to Jennifer.

And as soon as they returned home, he was going to buy a ring and make it official.