Author's Note: Hey guys, sorry this took me so long. Finals are over, but smut always takes me forever to write. You'll find it in the second half of this chapter, so if you're not into that, feel free to skip. Rating has increased due to this chapter, please be aware. Thanks to Karikocha for her help with this chapter, in helping me to be more confident in my writing. I hope you all enjoy!

Week Twenty-five, Year One

They'd been out late, her and the boys. Down to an abandoned track Brian knew of where they'd taken turns putting their cars through the paces. Until it had inevitably come down to a challenge. Some point of pride between Brian and Dom. Something which seemed to be old news to Roman and Tej as they just shook their heads and sat back to watch.

Leaning back against Rome's car she glanced at the two men as Brian and Dom pulled up to the starting line they'd designated. "What's up with this?" she asked.

"Last time they raced," Tej explained. "Dom let Brian win. He really wants to prove he's faster."

"Is he?" she asked.

The other two shrugged. "I dunno. They're on pretty even footing these days, but I think Dom still might be a little faster," Tej answered.

"Letty!" Dom waved her over and she sighed, walking up between the two cars. "What?"

"Someone's gotta wave the starting flag," he said, shooting a grin at her.

She rolled her eyes. "You better be ready then," she warned before walking up alongside the track.

She climbed up to stand on the low wall that blocked off the old pit from the rest of the track.

"Get ready boys!" she called, laughing when Rome and Tej jeered behind her.

They were revving their engines, eyes fixed on her as she held up one arm.

"Go!" The cars tore off at the same second, and Letty stood to watch the two of them jockeying for the better position as they headed for the first turn.

"Brian's gonna lose," Tej was saying behind her.

"What makes you so sure?" Roman asked, coming up to get a better view.

"Please, Letty is here. Dom won't lose while she's watching."

She turned to arch a brow at him and he shrugged. "It's a guy thing," he explained.

"You know," she replied. "Usually I hear 'It's a guy thing' to explain something incredibly stupid. What exactly does that mean?"

Roman laughed. "Oh burn," he said.

"You're a guy too," Tej told him, rolling his eyes.

"Why wouldn't he try to win either way?" Letty asked.

"Well he would," Tej answered. "But now he'll try even harder."

Shaking her head, Letty turned back to watch Brian and Dom come speeding around the last turn. And as expected… Dom was in the lead.

Afterwards they decided to hit up a favorite local hangout for some conciliatory beers. When they pulled up Letty saw that the other cars parked out front or in the tiny lot all looked like they belonged to racers. She could only guess that this was someplace they'd been before. She tried not to be annoyed she didn't remember it.

Inside was full of the din of activity. A pretty blonde and a young Latino man with great arms were manning the bar, busy dolling out drinks to the steady flow of customers. In one corner a television playing some sort of tuner show featuring a chick who looked like the models you saw on car calendars. The pool table in the corner was occupied by a group of six, making bets as they attempted to hustle one another. They found an empty table and Brian, being the loser of the race, went up first to buy everyone a round.

Coronas in hand they shot shit for a while, Roman regaling them with stories of Brian in his younger days, until the two began a competition of trying to embarrass one another the most that just devolved into laughter for the rest of the table. Stories gave way to drinking games and bragging contests which Letty mostly just rolled her eyes at. And in the end the only real result was Tej confiscating Roman's keys as none of them trusted him to drive home.

They left the bar close to closing time and Letty had just enough drink in her to make her feel a little sleepy as she climbed into the passenger side of Dom's car. He was smiling over at her as she settled into her seat and she stifled the urge to squirm under his gaze.

"What?" she asked.

"Last time we were here," he said. "We ended up getting kicked out."

She laughed as he put the car into drive. "Why? What did you do?"

"Me?" he scoffed. "Oh no, it was definitely you."

She looked at him in surprise, then took a moment to admit… it wasn't really that shocking. It wasn't like she didn't have a temper. And she could sure as hell throw a punch. Why should any of that be different just because she couldn't remember it?

"What over?"

He shrugged. "Some asshole without any respect, too many drinks, and a mouth brain connection that lacked a filter."

Laughing, Letty looked out the window. "Sounds like he deserved it."

"Oh he did. But you know how it is in a bar… one punch gets thrown and soon everybody's in on it and no one knows why they're beating the shit out of the other guy with that barstool."

"A barstool?" She stifled another laugh.

"But the real clincher was probably breaking the owner's nose," he added, fixing her with a grin.

"And you found this amusing?" she asked.

He shrugged, pulling off the highway towards home. "Always knew you were more devil than angel baby," he answered. "You didn't need a man to defend you or fight your battles for you." He glanced at her. "You still don't."

She smiled at him. "That doesn't bother you." It didn't have to be a question.

"I always thought it was sexy. There's never been a lack of girls out there looking for their protector, someone to take care of them." He fell silent a moment. "With us… I was always the one that needed you."

She lifted her dark eyes to his in surprise before reaching over to close her hand over his on the gear shift. He lifted it to catch her fingers in his own, tugging her towards him. She smiled, lips a hairs breadth from his.

"Aren't you supposed to be watching the road?" she asked, brushing a kiss against the corner of his mouth.

"I can see the road," he replied, but broke into a laugh as she closed the distance between them, slipping into his lap.

"How about now?" she teased.

Letty was swept by the sudden feeling of déjà vu, as Dom wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close, hand drifting down the line of her back to rest against her hip.

"Do you…" he started but she shook her head.

"I don't remember," she said softly, turning her head to press her lips against his throat. His hand tightened on her waist, then fell away to return to the gear shift as he turned down a side street. And she didn't remember, not really. But something about the moment felt familiar, and she couldn't help but hold onto that as they drove down the darkened roads.

Brian had beaten them back to his house and Dom pulled his car into the drive behind his. The kitchen light was on, but the rest of the house was dark. They sat there a moment, the car idling. Dom lifted his hands to cup her cheeks, fingers sweeping her hair away from her face as she leaned back in his lap to look at him. He brushed his thumbs over her cheeks and she smiled, lifting her hands to wind them around his wrists.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Just thinking about old times," he answered.

"Think about right now," she murmured, leaning in to close the distance between them.

The kiss started slow and sweet, deepening as she angled her head and he pulled her closer. Letty wound her arms around his shoulders as he swept his palms down her back to hook his fingers under hips. Reaching out blindly she snagged the door handle and pulled as Dom broke the kiss for air. His breath feathered across her mouth, lips brushing her skin as he murmured her name, trailing a path down her throat to taste the way her pulse sped beneath her skin. She raked her nails down his back, fingers curling under the hem of his t-shirt to brush against his bare skin. Leaned back as he traced the line of her cleavage with his lips and tongue, back pressing into the steering wheel of the car.

"Dom." His name was lost on a sigh as he slid one hand up to cup her breast through the thin material of her top.

Her fingers slipped under the hem of his t-shirt, pressing against the smooth heat of his skin, tracing the ridged muscles of his abdomen. His stomach flexed beneath her touch, hips lifting off the seat of the car as the hand on her hip pressed her closer.

"Fuck," Letty muttered, arching her back to press her breast into the heat of his mouth. Clothes still in the way, the cramped confines of the car, it all frustrated her. She ground her hips down against his, fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt and pulling him close for a hungry kiss. Her teeth scraped his lower lip, breath puffing out against his mouth.

"We need to get inside," she said, shifting in his lap so that she could push the car door open with her foot.

Dom stood, lifting her along with him, her legs locking around his waist as he hitched her up. He reached back with one hand to close the door before taking firmer hold of her again, lips mapping a path down her throat as he carried her up towards the back door.

It took them two tries to get it open, wrapped around one another, his arms full of her, laughter lost in their kisses, before they made it into the kitchen. He paused long enough to lock the door and yank it shut, neither of them stopping to flick off the light as he crossed the room in three long strides. On the stairs he stumbled once when she caught his ear between her teeth, her amusement muffled against his neck. He squeezed her ass, fingers dimpling the firm flesh in their grasp as she snagged the back of his shirt and tugged it up over his head. It was abandoned somewhere in the hallway before he carried her into the bedroom they often shared, nudging the door shut behind him.

They fell to the bed together, rolling until she rose up, straddling his waist and reaching for the hem of her shirt. She tossed it over her shoulder, pressing her palms flat against his chest to map the heat of his skin with her fingers. His dark eyes met hers, hands sliding up over her hips, the dip of her waist, fingers tracing the shape of her ribcage.

"Letty," he breathed, hands tangling in her hair to draw her down for a slow kiss. Words unspoken filled the heat between them. Words he wouldn't speak for fear of the pressure it might put on her. But she still felt every one of them in his gaze, in the way his hands swept over her body, or when he pulled her close at night.

He grazed his fingertips along the line of her back, releasing the catch of her bra and easing it off her shoulders. Moonlight and a tepid breeze fell through the open window, but the heat between them felt unbearable, sheening her bronzed skin with perspiration as she worked the closure of his jeans free and slipped her hands between them to take him in her palm.

His eyes rolled back in his head, hips lifting from the mattress and she smiled, reveling in the thrill of power. She rose up on her knees, his big hands unfastening her jeans and working snug pants and panties down over the curve" of her hips, revealing more of that skin to sight. Shifting off him she wriggled free of the denim as he kicked his own pants away, leaving them both bare to each other's gaze.

Letty grinned at the reverent way his eyes swept her. His big hands closed around her hips and he hauled her on top of him, skin pressing against skin. Her dark hair fell in a cloud around them as she grazed his jaw with her teeth before catching his mouth with hers once more. He brushed his knuckles along the backs of her thighs, pulling a shiver from her as he trailed his fingertips between her legs. She broke the kiss on a low moan, rising up above him as he wrapped his hands around her thighs and dragged her up his body to straddle his shoulders. She closed her eyes, feeling the heat of his breath feathering over her. The first slow sweep of his tongue had her clenching hands in the bedsheets, head thrown back and teeth biting hard into her lower lip to stifle the sounds that wanted to slip free.

His grip held her restless hips still, mouth, lips and teeth drawing pleasure through her until release swept over her, leaving trembles in its wake. Panting she let him roll them on the bed, locking her legs around his waist as he fitted their bodies close, poised above her. Her eyes met his and held as he slid inside her.

Her lashes fluttered shut as he began to move over her, bringing one hand up to clasp hers, fingers tangling together. He trailed his lips across her face, brushing over her cheeks before he turned her head into her shoulder, hot breath puffing out against her skin. Words murmured there were lost, muffled against her throat.

He swept his fingers through her hair, tilting back her head to brush his mouth over hers. "I love you." He breathed the words between them. Letty wrapped her arms around him and held on.

I'll always love you.