Chapter 6

Dom slowly made his way upstairs and into Liz's guest bedroom.

"What do you think you're doing?" Liz asked as he was about to sit down on the bed.

"I was planning on sitting down. Why?"

"I figured that you'd stay in my room, that way if you needed anything I'd be there to get it for you."

"Liz, as much as I'd love to share your bed, I'm not exactly up to it. You know what I mean?" he asked.

She laughed. "No, not like that. I wouldn't take advantage of someone who's injured, even if the injured party is you, the great Dominic Toretto."

Dom chuckled and grabbed his side.

"See, you can't even laugh. How in the hell are you supposed to take care of yourself in this condition?"

"I've done it before and I can do it again."

"Yeah right," she said, coming to his side and sliding under his arm. "Let's get you into the other bedroom where the bed's bigger."

Liz helped him into her bedroom and watched as he lowered himself onto the bed. A groan escaped his lips as he sat down.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I wanted to take a shower first, but now that I'm sitting, I think I've changed my mind."

She looked at the cuts and bruises on his face and chest, and then down to his split knuckles.

"No, I think a shower is definitely what the doctor ordered. Maybe it'll help with some of the soreness," she said, walking over to where he had just sat down. "Come on, let's get you into the bathroom."

"Liz, it's not that I'm ungrateful for everything you're doing, but I think I can do some of this by myself," Dom says, slowing rising from the bed.

She was hurt. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said, backing away from him. "I was just trying to help."

"I know, but," he says as he slowly makes his way into the bathroom, "you don't have to."

Liz followed. "Dammit Dom, I know I don't have to, but I feel as if some of this is my fault. I'm trying to make up for it."

He turned to her, pain showing on his face as he did so. "Liz, none of this is your fault. It was bound to happen sometime."

"But ..." she started, only to be cut off by him.

"No buts. I'll tell you what. If you want to help, see what you can do about getting these pants off of me so I can shower."

The thought of Dom naked in her shower triggered a rush of wetness between her legs, soaking her panties. She knew that she shouldn't be thinking like that right now, but she couldn't help it. Warring with herself, she tried to focus on the job of helping Dom out of his jeans and into the shower.

She bought herself a little time to compose herself by reaching into the shower and turning the water to warm and the shower head to an easy setting so it wouldn't beat him to death. When she had finished this, she turned back to Dom and reached for the button of his jeans.

When her hand brushed the skin of his stomach, she heard his swift intake of breath.

"I'm sorry," she said, thinking that she had caused him pain.

"No, it's ok," Dom answered, hoping his body wouldn't respond to her touch.

Unfortunately that didn't work. She unzipped his jeans and found him getting hard. She looked up at him and smiled. Dom blushed for the second time that night.

"Sorry about that," he said.

"Don't worry about it. Same thing happens to me when you're around."

"What? Your dick gets hard too?" he asked, trying to make light of the situation.

Liz laughed. "Yeah, something like that," she answered. "Now, lets get these off of you," she said, pulling them down his legs, revealing his muscular thighs and calves. Once that task was accomplished, he stepped into the shower and she left the bathroom.

Dom stood under the spray of the shower for the second time that night. Bracing himself against the wall, he thought about the events of the past few hours. Never in his life would he have thought that Letty was capable of something like this. He knew from experience that she had a temper. She'd slugged him more than once, but he knew that he had deserved it. They fought verbally and sometimes she fought physically. But during the entire time that they had been together, he never once raised his hand to her. There had been times that he'd wanted to, but he never did.

He stayed in the hot shower until the water turned cool, then carefully stepped out to find Liz waiting for him with a towel.

"Feel any better?" she asked as she carefully dried his body.

"Yeah, the hot water worked wonders."

"Good, maybe you'll be able to get comfortable now that you're relaxed," she said, continuing to dry him off. "If not, I've got some Vicodin that's sure to do the trick."

"Nah, the shower should be enough," he said, taking the towel from her and throwing it onto the bathroom counter. Dom slowly made his way back into the bedroom and found that Liz had turned down the bed for him.

"Do you want some shorts or something to sleep in?" she asked. "I can get them out of your bag."

Dom laughed. "I think I can do it, but thanks for offering," he said, walking over to where she had put his bag on the chair beside the window.

He reached into the bag he had packed earlier in the day and pulled out a pair of gray boxer-briefs and struggled to put them on. He was determined to do this one little thing by himself. Liz wanted to help him, but she knew that she had already stepped on his toes once and she didn't want to do it again. She watched as he made his way back over to the bed and gently lowered himself down to it.

"Now that you're clean, would you mind if I took care of some of those cuts you've got?"

He had looked at his reflection in the bathroom mirror earlier and hated what he saw. He had several cuts on his cheeks and a few on his forehead, as well as others on his body. His knuckles were raw.

"That'd probably be the best thing to do. I didn't have much in the way of antiseptic at the shop. And while you're at it, do you have an Ace bandage or something so I can wrap my ribs?"

Liz pulled out a basket that had an assortment of things in it.

"Sure thing. I've got everything you need right here," she says, picking up a gauze pad and pouring some antiseptic on it.

She gently cleaned the cuts and scrapes, doing it as lightly as she could so she wouldn't cause him any additional pain. Once she was finished, she grabbed the Ace bandage and started wrapping his torso with it, asking every now and then if it was too tight or too loose. Once she was finished, she put everything away.

"Now it's my turn for a shower," she said before disappearing into the bathroom.

When Liz was finished, she dressed and stood in the bathroom doorway, watching Dom sleep. His once perfect face was now covered in cuts and gashes, his lip busted from punches he'd taken. Her gaze drifted lower to his chest where bruises had begun showing through his dark skin.

Crawling into the bed, she thought about Letty. Even though she hadn't met her, she'd heard about her from Kyle. Letty was a bitch on wheels and fucked just about anybody. Why Dom never ditched her ass before this was beyond comprehension. From what she knew of Dom, he was someone who protected what was his, and she figured that he'd protect his woman the same way. But then she thought about the first time that she and Dom were together.

It was after one of the races and apparently Dom was paying too much attention to one of the girls that was hanging out with them. So to get Dom back, Letty took off with someone, but not before causing a huge scene. The girl Dom was talking to ended up leaving a little while later. Dom had been drinking and had come up to her and Kyle and asked if she wanted to go for a ride. She knew what he wanted and she was more than happy to oblige. Hell, who wouldn't have? He was the hottest ticket in town, could have any woman he wanted, and he had chosen her. Liz jumped at the chance. Dom climbed into her Eclipse and they sped off. She had no regrets about fucking another girl's guy, especially when they had a fucked up relationship like theirs. That was almost a year ago and they were still seeing each other. And now with Letty out of the scene, Liz wondered what was next.

Dom shifted in his sleep, the pain waking him.

He opened his eyes and turned to look at her. "Maybe I will take one of those Vicodin you were talking about earlier."

Liz smiled and went into the bathroom to get the pill and a glass of water. Dom slowly maneuvered himself into a sitting position and took the pill from Liz, drinking the water to wash it down. He lay back down and looked over at Liz.

"I've been meaning to ask you something."

"What?" she asked, reaching over and turning out the lamp.

"Why were you at the shop earlier?" he asked.

"I was going to invite you to dinner. I called the house earlier but Mia said that you were at the shop. So instead of calling, I decided that I'd drop by. And it's a damn good thing I did. No telling what would have happened if I hadn't have showed up when I did."

Dom didn't want to think about that either. He'd lost control once before and ended up in jail for it. He was glad Liz found him when she did.

He reached out, ignoring the pain shooting through his ribs, and pulled her to him.

"Thank you," he said before meeting her lips with his. "Thank you for saving my ass last night and thank you for saving my ass today."

"All in a day's work," Liz joked.

"I'm beginning to think you're my guardian angel or something."

"I've told you that a lady never reveals her secrets," she said before giving him one last kiss. "Get some sleep, Dom. You deserve it," she said before turning over and closing her eyes.