Page 66 of About the Green

He narrows his eyes, commanding, “Get out of my bed.”

“I’m not in your bed.”

“Sittin’ on it.”

“Technically,” I pat the spot next to me, “I’m sitting on the edge. I’m not in it.”

“Nina—”

“Vert?” I grin, as he exhales for patience.

“Told you I didn’t want to play these games. You know what you’re doin’.” He doesn’t sit next to me, choosing to loom over me. “Need to know what the fuck is goin’ on with you and these men.” He’s lost patience with me and avoiding his eye contact and grabs my chin in that way that he does. “What happened?”

I laugh again but this time it’s too bright and sharp. Too shrill to convey any enjoyment. “Nothing happened.” God, the lie comes out too easily. I’ve forgotten why I’m here because he’s pressing too close to my truth.

“You’re lyin’”

Still in his hold, I can’t look away. My body is too warm even though he keeps this room ice cold. “I do that,” I admit and it’s barely audible between us.

“Know it,” he says, not looking away.

My eyes flit back and forth between his. A beat passes and I swallow the thickness in my throat. “Stop asking,” the please, silent in my plea.

“No.”

A single word holding so much space in the room where we stare at each other. The air is heavy but I don’t want to be the one to break it. My confidence is fading more and more as I’m here. This doesn’t happen to me. I would normally make a joke or poke at him to get past this stiffness but I’m still raw from the rejection and the words that Liezel said earlier. I can’t hide behind anything as effectively as I’d want to.

Vert is making it impossible to with his focus so pointed on me.

I need to push him away before he sees the ugly parts, but he wants to see.

“You never make anythin’ easy do you?” He stabs what remains of the blunt out. A rough finger sliding into my mouth before I can object or react quick enough. He flicks the blade from my cheek retrieving it and setting it next to his ashes.

Lifting my chin out of his grip, I decide right then and there. “If you want it, then you’ll have to take it.”

“Okay, doll. The hard way it is.” He walks away, taking his comforting scent and the warmth with him. I’m already limp without the support of his hold.

So, as he sits in his chair, I follow dutifully.

He sets a pillow in his lap before I lean over it. My skirt is so short that he doesn't have to do much to be able to see my ass exposed here. I’m not concerned. He’s seen it before and it’s the least of my concerns as I lie here.

“If it were anyone else, I might tell them to count. For you, I'm goin’ until you can't anymore, or until I'm satisfied with the answers that I'm gettin’.” Vert’s words are simple and his expectations are low for me.

"I understand," I say, leaning over his legs, turning my head, eyes falling shut.

Since I'm not watching him, I can't see when the first strike is coming, but as soon as his large hand meets the tender flesh of my ass, I feel the strike down through my thighs.

It stings like nothing I’ve felt before. The intensity of it, only met with the warring intrigue.

I’m floating and falling at once, head empty of my own thoughts. Dropping is so easy with him. I’m already checked out of my awareness to let him have it.

The second spank I'm also not prepared for, as he switches cheeks accurately, pinpointing exactly where on my backside to get me with the most impact.

My core clenching tighter over nothing, the heat and the sting from the hit registering immediately each time I receive one.

I'm barely keeping count, but at the sixth strike there is nothing.

I expect there to be something, but it's not a hit.