It wasn’t like this was a new experience for us. We’d run into my ex…whatevers on multiple occasions. And this one…I hadn’t even acknowledged her. I could understand Kiera feeling frustration, but the level of anger and just plain bitchiness coming from her right now was mystifying. She had to know I wasn’t doing anything with them now. Why was it so hard for her to believe I was capable of being faithful? And what did that mean for us…

“And…and…” The heat in her face dissipated as her argument fell apart. She hung her head, defeated. “And I’m tired of running into girls who know what making love to you feels like.”

The weariness in her voice cooled my temper, and I couldn’t help but think of all the times Kiera had been approached by women when I wasn’t around. She’d been harassed before, and she’d probably heard a shit-ton of gossip. It wasn’t just the girls we ran into together that were wearing her down; it was a relentless onslaught of my whoring past crashing into her time and time again, everywhere she went. I could understand how that would be tiring. But what she’d just said wasn’t true.

Stepping up to her, I cupped her face. “No one but you knows what making love to me feels like. I didn’t even know what making love was like until you.” I motioned to the building behind us. “What happened with that girl was just sex. A mindless, physical act that had no meaning or feeling behind it. It was just pleasure, and I don’t even really remember it.”

I squatted down so I could hold her gaze. “I remember every single time with you. Even before we were together, being with you haunted my dreams. I couldn’t forget, even when I wanted to…” She was starting to cry, and as I brushed the tears from her cheeks, my heart constricted with the painful memories of needing her when she wasn’t mine. It still hurt. “You seared me. That’s making love. That is something that none of them have over you. You are…unforgettable…and I love you.”

She sniffed, swallowed, then finally said, “I love you too.”