An End and a Beginning
Summary: They didn't work out the first time around, but they have something tangible between them that forces them to be in each other's lives forever. They are getting a second chance, but with Dominic and Letty, nothing comes easy.
Rating: M!
Chapter 18
Valentine's Day:
Mia had been wary of Valentine's Day, as far as Dom and Letty were concerned, long before they had even gotten together. They always had their own way of doing things that didn't make sense to anyone else.
Letty had hidden it well, but the last Valentine's Day that she had spent with Trevor, she had been in a bit of a funk. She had brushed Mia off completely when asked. Mia wasn't sure what to expect this year, but she was completely shocked when Letty came from her bedroom, mouth twitching slightly and trying to hide a grin.
"What's up with you?" Mia demanded, raising an eyebrow over her coffee cup.
"Nothing", Letty sang pleasantly, digging for her flavored creamer in the back of the fridge.
"Uh-huh", Mia said skeptically.
"What?"
"You're awfully chipper what with this being your least favorite holiday and all", Mia said slowly.
"Who said that?"
Mia looked at her friend incredulously. "You did! All through our teenage years, all I heard from you is what a crock of commercialism Hallmark turned Valentine's Day into."
Letty sighed dramatically. "You're ruining my mood, girl. I'm gonna jump in the shower, and head to the garage early since Dom has Aiden."
"You're acting weird!" Mia shouted after her.
"It's your imagination!" Letty called back as she slammed her bedroom door. She glanced at the small pink box sitting innocently on her night table and grinned. "Asshole", she muttered affectionately under her breath before heading into her bathroom to get ready.
0
Dominic dropped Aiden off at school and then headed for the garage. He saw Letty's car, and was only mildly surprised she beat him there. He went inside to find her, and saw the light on in the office. Dom was surprised to find her sitting Indian-style on top of the desk.
He leaned in the doorway with an amused grin on his face. "Comfy?"
"The desk needs a cushion."
He eyed the box in her hand, and she tossed him a candy heart back that was a different color but had the same message as the one he had left on top of her box.
'Miss you'.
"Breaking and entering… such a romantic V-Day tradition, Dominic", she teased with a grin.
"I only entered", he smirked, advancing in her direction. "I have a key."
"Yeah, I'm still iffy on how that happened."
He planted his hands on the work desk on either side of her and gave her a soft, chaste kiss on the lips. "Missed you, Let."
She returned his kiss, standing up, but allowing him to keep her pressed against the desk. "I missed you too", she murmured. Then she grinned and stepped around him, pressing a Styrofoam cup full of coffee into his hand "Got work to do."
"Tease!" he quipped.
The smirk she sent him over her shoulder had him lunging for her. Letty trotted off to the car she had to work on laughing under her breath.
It really was tradition. Every year on Valentine's Day since their first kiss –except for two – they had had shared a kiss on the holiday. The first year they were apart, they had avoided each other completely. And this past year when she had been with Trevor… well, she had been bitchy. Even if no one else knew why, she did. Letty really should have taken that for what it was, and realized that her relationship wasn't going to last.
This was the first of the few platonic kisses they had shared since they had broken up that held the promise that they were going to try to figure out what they were doing with their relationship.
00
Two weeks later:
Letty found Mia at the dining room table studying. "Are you staying in tonight?"
Mia raised an eyebrow. "Let me check my social calendar", she teased sarcastically. Then she eyed her friend's state of dress curiously. "Where are you going? In those leather pants?"
"Out… for a bit?" she asked hopefully. "Aiden's asleep. Please? I'll owe you-"
"Go", Mia laughed. "When I graduate, you and I will have a girl's night. I know you need a night out. Don't worry about it. I'm making an outline to study for a test that isn't until next week. I was just going to read a book or something after I finish, and go to bed early."
"Lame", Letty grinned. "I have my cell. Call if you need me for anything."
"Get out of here", Mia flapped a hand at her.
"I love you!" she called with a laugh over her shoulder as she left.
0
Letty finished her beer and third shot, and then expertly wound her way through the crowd between the bar and the bottom level dance floor. It was probably a stupid idea to come here on a Saturday night because it was so crowded, but she could handle herself. The men in her life had ensured that.
This place was one of the higher class bars in L.A. that had decent music, and every once in a while, she just needed a few hours to let loose.
Her hips twisted as she felt the low beat of the music enter her bloodstream and she took her spot in the crowd. She found the two closest emergency exits for her own peace of mind, and then let the music take her.
0
Dom couldn't take the mind-numbing boredom he felt any longer. It was a Saturday night, for god's sake. After Letty had gotten pregnant, they had both adjusted their schedules accordingly, realizing that they couldn't take those same careless risks for the sake of an adrenaline rush. They had someone else to protect now. But every once in a while, he still got the occasional itch to go and do something.
He tossed the magazine that he had been flipping through onto the coffee table and went upstairs to change clothes. After he had his keys and wallet, Dom went back downstairs and poked his head into the study where his father was paying bills.
"I'm going out for a bit", he said.
Tony nodded at his son distractedly. "Stay out of trouble."
Dom laughed under his breath. "I'm a little too old for trouble these days, Pops."
"I should hope so", his father muttered as he left.
0
That was how Dom found himself at this club downtown. At least this place didn't have those damn strobe lights or a fucking disco ball. He snorted and found the bar quickly. He was nursing his second beer when the lighting changed on the dance floor and lit up a small platform.
He raised an eyebrow at the pole he saw in the middle. The woman took the short flight of stairs quickly despite her heels. And he'd admit the first thing he noticed was her backside and then long legs encased in black leather pants.
Dom leaned back against the bar top behind him, settling in to watch the show.
Three seconds later, when the woman turned, he spat his mouthful of beer on the floor.
It was Letty.
He had to check himself, in order to stifle the urge to go down there and bodily remove her from the tiny stage.
Not his. Two words that taunted him on a weekly – fuck that, daily – basis, now were pounding in his skull. He really missed the days when he was the only one who knew that she could move.
She had probably been drinking, but she swung herself around in a way that led him to believe this wasn't her first attempt.
He grinned evilly and finished his beer. Dom took the spiral staircase down to the dance floor. Even if he couldn't tap into his caveman tendencies, he could still play dirty enough to fuck with her.
She would probably read him the riot act tomorrow. But it would be worth it.
0
Dom got up right behind her and goosed her. He was ready for the fist that came at him, and caught her wrist easily. He just smirked down at her and laid a kiss on her knuckles despite the fury in her eyes.
"Shit", she cursed breathlessly, shaking her hand out of his grasp only to have him yank her against him by her hips. She fell in step with him instinctively, hips slotting together naturally as they danced. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Come here often?" he asked in favor of answering her.
She rolled her eyes irritably, "Only when I need to blow off some steam."
His hands at her waist tightened. "There are better ways to do that", he growled suggestively. "Can't say I didn't enjoy the floor show, though."
"Jealous?" Letty raised her eyebrows.
"How drunk are you?" Dom asked seriously.
She pressed up onto her toes and kissed the corner of his mouth lightly. "Not very", she murmured.
His hands slid down to her ass, palming it roughly as he nuzzled her neck. "Let's get out of here."
0
He almost literally put her in his car despite her protests. "We'll come get your car tomorrow", he growled. He wasn't letting her get away from him tonight.
Dom nearly laughed after all of her attempts to keep her distance, that it only took his hand sliding up her thigh as he pulled out of the parking lot for her to be all over him.
She balanced on her knees on the seat next to him, mouth leaving a trail down his neck. "Pull over", she growled.
"Five minutes", he promised.
"Now", Letty argued roughly.
He caught her chin at a red light. "What? Before you change your mind?"
She shook her head. "No- I just want you, and I'm impatient."
He smirked. "We'll be in a room with a bed in ten minutes."
"Drive faster", she ordered against his mouth.
"Yes, ma'am."
0
Her shirt was off almost immediately after they entered the room, and she hissed as he pressed her against the door. Letty's fingers worked efficiently to unhook the buttons of his shirt as he sucked on her neck – never let it be said that she couldn't multi-task – and then groaned in irritation when she found the wife-beater underneath.
Dom chuckled into her hair as he fumbled with her leather pants. Of course the button was on the inside of the band. "I hate these things", he muttered, finally getting them undone and yanking them down her thighs.
She gave a throaty laugh at his impatience. "Yeah, well they make my ass look amazing. I wasn't exactly planning on getting laid tonight, so I didn't worry about making them easy to get off."
He nipped her earlobe, hands wandering, familiarizing himself with her body after such a long absence. "Glad to hear it", he replied seriously as she stepped out of her pants and finished ridding him of his shirts.
Letty started pushing him towards the bed, and almost managed to get them there before Dom turned them around and picked her up, fingertips digging into her hips for a few brief seconds until he unexpectedly tossed her onto the bed, forcing a tiny shriek of surprise past her lips.
She landed and then leaned up on her elbows, smirking slightly as she watched him take his pants off.
"Enjoying the show?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.
"If I only had some singles to throw at you", she teased.
He crawled over top over her, both of them stripped down to their underwear, and he lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her roughly. "We still need to talk. And we will. Later. But it's been way too fucking long since I've had my hands on you", he growled.
She arched against him with a whimper as his hands stroked down her sides. "Got that right", she hissed.
"No more thinking?" Dominic challenged, tasting the skin between her breasts. She sighed, body arching demandingly, and he reached underneath her to unhook her bra before tossing it somewhere she'd have to hunt for later.
"Not tonight", she purred agreeably.
Their last articles of clothing were removed quickly, and he was pressing himself inside her as she locked her ankles behind his back. Their movements were rough with passion, but reverent as they pushed and pulled each other towards that metaphorical edge. Hands were everywhere, seemingly all at once: behind her knee, in her hair, her nails dug into his back, hands dragged down his chest, and gripped the back of his neck. His fingers playing distractedly at her nipples as they moved together earned him a bite to his bottom lip
It was wonderfully easy to get lost together. They still knew each other and it was apparent in every stroke and caress, and the way they couldn't take their focus off of each other.
Sex was the simple part. Love was hard.
They were going to have to fight for it.
00
A/N: Sorry for the killer cliff-hanger! I make it up to you in the next chapter. Okay, so I've been planning this chapter for a long time. I've had most of it written for a while too – since at least five or six chapters ago. The idea for this bit came from the song "Lose Control" – by Keri Hilson ft. Nelly. It's on youtube. I saw the video, and this is what came from it. I know! It's about damn time!
The next chapter has most of the juicy stuff though! It will be up soon!