Read House Of Payne: Scout for Free Online Page B

his eyes before the mask reappeared. “Nothing that could be repeated in public.”
    Interesting. “I’d say Frenchie, but that makes me think of a character in the movie Grease , and she was kind of a bimbo. And also, you’re Canadian, so that won’t fly. What’s your favorite junk food?”
    He thought for a moment. “Poutine.”
    She stared at him. “I don’t even know what that is.”
    The last vestiges of the mask vanished with his grin, and the real Ivar shining through was so breathtaking she thought she might need CPR. “I think you would like it.”
    “I’m not even sure I could spell it. How do you like the sound of Canuck?”
    “Completely awful.”
    When the man was right, he was right. “What do you like to do in your spare time?”
    “Flirt with beautiful women.” To prove it, he picked up her hand and brought it to his lips. In an instant, Scout’s heart knocked against the wall of her chest in an apparent search for weak spots. Normally she would have enjoyed the rush—he was the most gorgeous man she’d ever fantasized about, after all—but she was far from the enjoyment zone. This was the second time he’d inspired this crazy, toe-curling reaction. Not a good thing when he was also the guy who tripped every single one of her internal alarms.
    His mouth brushed along her knuckles.
    Her toes curled so much her foot began to cramp.
    Oh, man. This was seriously not good.
    “I know you regularly keep company with the most beautiful women in the world, so crap like that is seriously not going to work with me, pal.” Firmly, so that neither one of them could doubt her, she yanked her hand free while flexing her toes to fight off the cramp. “Unless, of course, you want to be tagged with the name Romeo.”
    “Would that make you my Juliet?”
    “Call me Juliet, and I’ll give you another bloody nose.”
    His head snapped back in surprise. Too late, she realized the swan-like women inhabiting his elegant world probably didn’t threaten to throw down. “Why? I thought Juliet was a tragic heroine whom everyone adored.”
    “Ugh, are you kidding me? Juliet was a weak-willed sap who offed herself rather than sucking it up and moving on. Life is way different in South Deering, know what I mean?”
    “Not really.”
    “You freaking celebrate every day you wake up with a heartbeat, because that means you’ve lived through yet another night without getting shot, knifed or burned up in your own bed. To someone like me, life is all about survival, get it? That moron Juliet didn’t even try . That makes her weak, and that’s why you’ll get a bloody nose if you even think about calling me by that name.”
    “An interesting viewpoint.” Those arctic eyes glittered over her as if he’d never seen her before. “But I was thinking more along the lines of romance, rather than life or death. It is said that every woman is a romantic.”
    “I repeat, South Deering, from the neighborhood of Slag Valley. Romance isn’t spoken there.”
    “But you are still, most definitely, a woman.” Her hand was once again confiscated, this time to be molded into the cup of his palm while his fingers curled around hers. “What is it that makes you weak in the knees, Scout? Every woman has something they cannot resist.”
    She looked straight into those jewel-like eyes and knew that if she stared into them for much longer, she wouldn’t be able to resist him .
    What a terrifying thought.
    When she didn’t answer, his hand squeezed hers. “Do you not have an answer for me?”
    “Why would anyone share a weakness?” It took a monumental effort, but she managed to tear her gaze away from him while Leo approached with a laden tray. “Besides, crap like that doesn’t really exist in my world. Yours maybe, but not mine. I prefer the ugly truth of reality to all that rosy-hued mumbo-jumbo like romance.”
    “I would believe this, except your fingers are now holding onto mine. Quite tightly, I might