Author's Note: It looks like this is the final stretch. I am amazed both that it look me this long to finish and that I really am actually finishing (and before the movie too, but only just!). It's not perfect but it's as perfect as it's going to get without me sitting on it for another 6 months. There's only one chapter left after this and it's almost ready to go (as in written and being beta'ed as I type).
Thank you to everyone that has reviewed and to everyone that's been reading and keeping up with the story. I mostly write for myself but that I can give you guys something that you enjoy is the biggest honor and pleasure. Post a review if you're inclined and keep an eye out for the last chapter.
Transformations Part 3
After the initial shock of seeing Dom and Letty together calmed down, things settled back to normal for the team. It had only been a couple of months and the fact that they could still keep their routine was a good sign of things. Not that Letty and Dom kept their hands to themselves when the others were around -- far from it actually. But they weren't obnoxious about it, or at least they tried not to be. They were far too busy with other things fortunately since there was a lot of work to be done at the garage and the store wasn't going to look out for itself.
In fact, Dom was more than a little frustrated that while he and Letty did a lot of necking and making out, he had yet to fulfill his promise to rock her world as she had put it. For one thing, they were hardly ever alone. If it wasn't the boys then it was Mia or some party or some customer. And he didn't want to half-ass things or rush it either. No quickies in the back office just because they had an itch to scratch; usually it was a very sexy, horny itch, but not an appropriate one by any means. Also, they just couldn't get their timing right -- when he had some free time, she was either too tired or out taking care of her own business or he would be out on business for the garage when she was feeling in the mood. On a particularly difficult moment of wanting her, Dom joked that maybe they would have to settle for the dirty couch in the corner but was surprised when she was the one that scoffed at the idea. Now that he had promised her an entire evening devoted to her pleasure, she wasn't going to settle for less.
But their inability to get more intimate certainly wasn't a function of not having the desire. Dom found that he thought about Letty all the time. It didn't help that they worked together so closely for most of the day, she all sweaty, disheveled and clad in tight leather. On the one hand, it was exciting and hot and satisfying to finally give into the attraction he had felt for years for his friend. On the other hand, he felt a little stupid for being such a lovesick fool, pining over one girl like he wasn't the King of the Streets. Plenty of chicks -- brave ones at that given that it was Letty they were dealing with -- tried to sway him away from what was turning into commitment status. But he was shocked to find that he wasn't feeling them at all. They would sidle up to him at the races or at parties, showing off their bodies and all he would do was think that they couldn't compare to his hot Latina firecracker. And that would lead him to finding Letty wherever she was and attacking her like a man on a mission.
Letty didn't try too hard not to be smug about it.
And it seemed that Letty for her part, found that now she had landed the man with whom she had been fighting and working and loving since she was a little girl, she took great pleasure in teasing him. She had a bad habit of leaving him wanting in the ways he himself had done to her over the years. She'd harmlessly flirt with the guys and started dressing in ways that showed off his favorite places on her body. She was always sure to give him a reward for putting up with it and that little game seemed to turn him on more for the effort. Dom both loved and hated her for it.
But she also revealed to him a softer side that she'd only given him glimpses of in the past. She'd stop by with a cool drink when he was working in the hot back office at the store or finish up paperwork that she knew he was intentionally putting off until the last minute. If he was really lucky she'd massage his back at the end of the day before heading out. It tended to be more of a distraction from the mountain of work he had to do before heading home himself but damn was it worth it every single time.
It was a new type of relationship for both of them. It wasn't just about sex or attraction or appearances. They had a history together and a respect that was more important than what other people thought of them. The emotions involved were deep and complex. They didn't want to label things; didn't want to jinx what they had. Still, neither could help but ponder whether this was what being in love felt like.
Whatever it was, they wanted all of it and felt like they could and would fight anything to keep it.
***
Dom was leaning over the engine of a client's car hoping to finish one last job before turning in for the day. Letty and the boys were already gone, getting ready for the cross-town races that were taking place in a few hours. None of them would be racing that night -- they'd leave that to the locals on that scene. But they had a lot of friends in that neighborhood and they liked to drop in and check out what was going on in those parts.
Of course it couldn't compare to their home scene and it didn't hurt to sit back and remind them of that ... in a friendly way of course.
Mia was in the office finishing up with the books before heading home to get ready for her study group. He had made fun of her saying that she was turning into such a nerd but he was proud of her and she knew that. She figured that if she was going to skip a night on the town in favor of studying, tonight was the night since nothing much would be happening and the party would be over someone else's house.
Dom heard the back door open and close and wondered if Mia was finally ready to head out. Maybe he could convince her to keep him company while he finished so he wouldn't feel so depressed about being the last one out again. If they had time, they might even be able to pick up some dinner on the way home. She wouldn't leave without telling him so he just turned back to his work.
He should have paid more attention though because he jumped and almost hit his head when he felt two hands slide underneath his shirt and over the muscles of his back. He immediately knew who it was of course; that breathless chuckle, the subtle sound of leather sliding against the cotton of his pants and the unmistakable feel of those little fingers with the surprisingly strong grip. Her presence and touch excited him as usual but she was going to have to pay for putting him on edge like that.
"Lacey, didn't I tell you I'd meet you later?" He kept his gaze forward and tried to hide the knowing smirk from giving him away.
He felt Letty's welcome caress stop abruptly before completely withdrawing. She pulled his shirt, and him along with it, from under the hood. Getting a display of her strength as she spun him completely around in anger frightened him, but only a little. It more had the effect of turning him on ... a lot.
"Excuse me? Lacey? What the fuck, Dom?" Her face was full of possessive fire, all flushed and animated. Her hands now rested tensely on her hips, pulling her low-slung pants even further down he couldn't help but notice. Her shoulders had tensed up sending the straps on her tank top askew. God was she hot. But he thankfully saw her expression change to one of exasperated humor as she registered the smug grin on his face at getting her riled up. "You really suck, you know that?" She crossed her arms over her very enticing chest and rolled her eyes at him.
"That's what you get for sneaking up on a playa. Now that you've got me all hot and bothered, come on over here with that sexy temper of yours." Too impatient to wait for her to comply, he grabbed her around the middle, pulling her flush against him. He gently rubbed her back until she reluctantly moved her arms around him. He had gotten her good, she had to admit. She decided though that feeling him against her like this was a lot better than giving him a hard time about it. She knew when to pick her battles and when she met his grin with a sexy smile of her own, his instant reaction to her was all the payback she needed.
Dom leaned down and gave her a sound but chaste kiss not wanting to get too carried away before finding out what was going on. "What are you doing here, babe? I thought you were going to meet up at the house later?"
Letty ran her finger up and down the nape of her man's neck, loving the feel of his skin against hers and the hiss of pleasure it caused him. "I was on my way back home when I saw you and Mia were still here so I thought I'd drop in and see if I could drag you away for a couple of hours. I know you don't have too much that needs to get done this afternoon so maybe you could spare a girl a couple of hours to get into a little trouble." She pressed into his body slightly just to make sure he understood exactly what she was suggesting.
"I like the way you think," he drawled before he brought his lips to hers again. This time he let her feel exactly what she did to him. She removed her hands from around his shoulders and ran her fingers over his broad chest, clutching the muscles there briefly before returning to cradle his face in her grasp. He groaned at her touch and instinctively reached to stroke her ass and give her a squeeze.
"Ugh! You two have no shame!" Mia said as she emerged from the office in the back, purse and jacket in hand. Her words were harsh but the grin on her face showed that she absolutely enjoyed teasing her brother and best friend about their newfound relationship.
Letty and Dom shot her a dirty look before slowly letting go of each other and turning their attention to her. She was the queen of bad timing over the past few weeks, a title that she seemed to be getting a little too much pleasure out of.
"You Torettos think you're so funny today don't you?" Letty said with a smirk. Both Dom and Mia shrugged in that cocky way that Letty was convinced came from their shared gene pool. "Both of you are going to get what's coming to you," she threatened.
"I certainly hope so," Dom leered, pulling her back to his side with a sweep of his bulky arm. This earned him a roll of the eyes from both girls, although Letty's pinch to his side suggested that she didn't mind at all.
"Anyway, I'm headed out. Don't go having sex on anything I have to touch, okay? I knew there was at least one good reason that you two shouldn't be hooking up." Her grin at them as she walked out was pure Mia. She was teasing them since she was surprisingly their biggest supporter and was quite aware, being the interrupter that she was, that they had yet to do the deed. They had talked to her separately about their relationship early on and she had been almost as overjoyed as they were. She loved them both and had thought for years that they would make each other happy. She knew it wasn't always going to be an easy road and she hated that for them. But being as close as she was with Letty and Dom and growing up with them, it was obvious to her that there was no one else better out there for them than each other. She truly believed that.
As they listened to Mia drive away, Dom turned back to the car he was working on and closed the hood. The rest of it could wait until tomorrow. He had a much better offer on the table for how he could spend the next few hours.
Letty leaned against the hood of the car and looked over at Dom expectantly. "So what do you say? Why don't we head back to your place and have a little private party before we go out?"
"Sounds like the best kind of party. But I've got good news and bad news," he said pulling her into his arms with her back to his front. He reached his head around and kissed her lightly on the neck before continuing. "We can't go back to the house because Mia's having some kind of study group thing over there. And as much as I would love some alone time with you, I don't really want her geek posse as an audience."
Letty giggled and reached up to squeeze his arms that held her firmly in his grasp. "Okay, that's a good point. So what's the good news because Mia's right about one thing. I have no desire to kick it with you here."
"You better get over that because it's gonna happen at some point, Letty. Trust. Maybe not today but one of these days, we're not going to be able to help it." That was certainly true. "But the good news is that there is nothing stopping us from moving the party to your place." He began nuzzling her neck again, stringing kisses along the way. "A nice big empty house where we can be as loud as we want and no one is going to disturb us." Despite his soothing caresses along her arms and neck, he felt her tense up at the suggestion but it was gone almost as quickly as he detected it.
"Sure," she agreed a bit breathless. "Let's go."
Dom locked up and they drove to his place and parked their cars. The walk to Letty's place was short. He had considered flinging her over his shoulder and running there as fast as he could but he didn't think she'd appreciate the gesture. But he wanted her so badly and the prospect of having her finally was overwhelming him.
Letty was unusually quiet and intense. When she opened the door to her dark house, she let out a sigh but Dom was on her in two seconds, kissing her and pushing her towards the stairs that led to her bedroom. Letty glanced behind her as Dom continued to touch her and trace her body with his lips and tongue and hands. She could feel that every inch of him wanted her and while she was aroused and excited by the idea of finally having him inside her, she couldn't shake the sense of trepidation that consumed her when she was in this house.
"Dom," she said, retreating from his embrace and the fevered kisses with which he was showering her. His passion-filled eyes drank her in and pulled her again to him, this time reaching underneath her shirt to stroke her skin and unclasp her bra. "Dom, stop," she tried again, pushing him away forcefully. "I can't do this. Not here."
Dom stumbled back, cool from the loss of Letty's body against his but not too far gone to see the distress written all over her face. He turned around trying to calm himself down although there wasn't much to see in the dimness of the room. All of the curtains were drawn and they hadn't bothered to turn on any of the lights. The only illumination came from the receding sunlight streaking in from the kitchen doorway at the far side of the room.
But now that he was focusing on something other than getting into Letty's pants, he couldn't help but notice the shroud of emptiness hanging over the house. He also noticed the blanket and pillow strewn haphazardly over the couch. Comprehension dawned on him as he realized that even months later, Letty still wasn't sleeping upstairs in her own bed. She was still standing at the base of the stairs feeling exposed and embarrassed as she refused to look him in the eye. He registered her discomfort and it hurt him to to the core. How could he have not known it was this bad?
He grabbed her hands in his and pulled her closer to him, although not into his arms. Letty finally looked up to meet his gaze. She saw so many questions written in his expression and felt a fresh wave of shame over it. "I'm sorry, Dom. I just can't. Not here." As it was, of all the time they spent with each other, very little of it was spent here. Except for sleeping, she spent the rest of her time at his house or the garage, pretty much avoiding any alone time in her childhood home. He didn't blame her really but it wasn't healthy.
Dom sighed and ran his thumbs gently across her hands. "It's okay. I know how you feel about this place. I'm sorry I suggested it." He led her over to the couch and carefully sat her down, pushing the pillow and blanket out of the way. "But you need to deal with this at some point, Letty," he said gently. "Have you thought any more about selling the house? It's a good market right now and I know some people." It was risky bringing that particular subject up. She was never in the mood to talk about it much. Even now, she was shaking her head trying to repel the line of conversation from the room.
"I'm not ready to get into all of that, you know I'm not." She was filled with an irrational fear just thinking about it. She wasn't scared of hardly anything; she was a tough girl. But moving away was both a confusing mix of being completely unthinkable and a hopeful relief.
He let go of her hands and put his arm around her, pulling her close. "I know, baby, but it's been a while now. You are going to have to deal with this. I know it's hard but I can help. Or Mia if you'd rather talk about it with her." He realized he wasn't the only person that Letty confided in and really, Mia was a lot better at supporting Letty with the emotional stuff than he was.
She curled up farther into Dom but didn't say anything. They sat there like that for a while, not talking but just holding each other. If she wasn't going to talk about it, he could at least be here for her in the meantime Dom thought.
"I hate this place," Letty said softly. Dom ran his hand over her arm but remained silent. "But I love it too," she continued. He knew what she meant. He felt that way about his own home; and the garage too. It was hard to live with the memories sometime but at the end of the day, there were so many happy ones that the painful ones were kept at bay. That couldn't possibly be true for Letty with all she had endured amongst these walls.
After a few moments he felt a cold tear slide over his skin and he reached down to wipe away the streak running down her cheek. It was a rare thing for Letty to cry anymore. In fact, he hadn't seen her even come close after that night at the cemetary. How had they gone from so hot to so cold in such a short amount of time?
"This is all I have left of him," she whispered against his neck. "Both of them," she amended. For the hundredth time, Dom's heart sank thinking about the large piece of Letty that died alongside CJ and her father.
Dom chose his words carefully because obviously he didn't want to upset her more than she already was. He didn't want to say it because it felt like a betrayal of sorts. It felt hurtful and callous and he loved her too much to cause her anymore pain. But she needed to hear it.
"Maybe it's time you let the both of them go, Lett'."
Letty squeezed her eyes shut at his words. How could she give them up? Her dad had been a useless son of a bitch for most of her life but even at her angriest, she could remember the man he used to be before he became so broken. And CJ? She wasn't a whole person without him. She needed every meager scrap of him that she kept with her -- the room she hadn't touched; the dreams he had for her; and the memories. She had people around her that supported her and who she loved in return but it wasn't the same. It would never be the same.
More than anything, she was overwhelmed with sorrow because she knew Dom was right.
And through it all, he held her.
"You know I've wanted you for a long time, since you were sixteen." Letty was confused by the change in conversation but was too upset to inquire. "There were so many times when I wanted to grab you and devour you," he admitted with a chuckle. "Especially when you were upset or mad. I guess I wanted to take care of you and make everything better after CJ passed." He held her tighter and kissed the top of her head. "But I had promised CJ before he left that I wouldn't break your heart and I took that very seriously." Letty looked up at him in surprise, eyes red-rimmed and serious. "Yeah, he had an idea about what could happen between us and he was right." He kissed her upturned lips but guided her head back against his chest. "He also said that you were going to grow up to be a beautiful woman and he was right about that too," he added with a smile. "I know he wanted to see that for himself. Anyone who knew him wished that for the both of you because he adored you."
"I adored him too," Letty said softly. "For a while, he was the only good thing in my life. Until I met you guys."
Dom squeezed her to him and continued. "The point is that I promised CJ that I would look out for you. Me and my dad both promised him. And I'm going to do whatever I can to live up to that."
Letty sighed but didn't move from Dom's arms. "But I'm not a little girl anymore Dom. You don't have to protect me because of some promise to CJ. I can protect myself and make my own decisions."
"But that's the thing. Right now, yesterday, next week -- it's not about that. It has nothing to do with CJ or your dad or my dad either. I want to take care of you because I love you and I want you with me. I want you to let go because I want all of you and I can't stand to see this place and these memories hold you back. Baby, you will always have CJ's love and he'll always have yours. And you don't need this house or his things to feel that. But I want some of your love too and so do Mia and the guys." Dom was so frustrated because there was so much he wanted her to know about his feelings for her. "I know it's hard because I've got dad's car out back and the idea of ever letting go of that part of him kills me. But it doesn't keep me from living my life. I just think the sooner you get rid of this place, the sooner we can have you. And I want you Letty, so much. I know it's selfish but --." He didn't know what else to say so he just looked down at the strong but fragile woman in his arms.
Letty gazed up at him with a wicked smile which was pretty amusing given the seriousness of their conversation. He met her smile with one of his own. "Not just like THAT. You know what I mean," he said laughing at his double entendre. She slowly brought her hand to his face to bring him down for a long, sweet kiss.
But he wasn't done with her yet. "So why don't you get rid of this place and then you can move in with me. I mean, me and Mia." Letty shook her head in protest but he stopped her quickly. "I know that sounds really soon for us and weird but I think it could be good, you know." Letty laughed heartily at the suggestion but remained skeptical. "I'm serious! Look, you practically live there anyway. You can even have your own room if you want, although I can think of a much better arrangement. I can cook you dinner one night a week, or at least I can tell Mia what to cook since you know I don't do that kind of thing --."
"Dom," she said, interrupting him. "How about I think about it." Dom shrugged encouragingly since it was a no brainer to him but he kept quiet. He didn't want to push her too hard. "You're one corny bastard, you know that?" She hugged him to her and they both sighed in contentment.
"Yes, I am aware of that."
"But you're sweet," she added. She looked up at him in all seriousness. "And I love you too."
"I know."
They stared into the each other's eyes until the tension was too much and they were finally forced to reach out. There was hope in their embrace and the feeling that they cared about each other and wanted to be together to make their relationship work. They kissed each other with abandon, tongues and lips and teeth mingling with the other's. He breathed her in and she explored his body with her hands and mouth. They came together in the ways that had been simmering since that first mutual spark had ignited between them.
Dom pulled away, breathless and wanting, still caressing her and holding her to him. "Another painful non-hookup," he muttered, body tense and aroused. He glanced at his watch and sighed when he saw the time. It was getting late and they had to stop now if they wanted to meet up with the guys on time.
But Letty was having none of it as she pulled him back to her and did her best to get him out of his shirt. "How about we go to Plan B," she whispered against his ear and moved her hands to work on his pants.
Dom didn't need any further encouragement as he pulled out his phone and quickly texted the guys that they weren't going to make it out tonight. "Plan B it is." He then grabbed Letty and headed for the stairs so that he could properly rock her world in the comfort of her bed.
They continued to kiss and caress each other on their way, looking forward to the moment they would be one with each other. They anticipated their limbs entwined, breaths shared, and the push and the pull of their bodies as they found their passionate release. Neither had ever felt such an urgency to be with another person but both wanted to savor every second, every touch, every nip and clench. When they finally made love in a few moments, it really would be an ultimate expression of what they meant to each other.
They barely noticed when they passed the closed doors of Letty's father and brother. These men from their past were both gone but Letty and Dom were still here and it was time to move on. And with only thoughts of each other consuming them, that's exactly what they did.
Together Dom and Letty closed her door and took the first steps towards the rest of their lives.