Read Nemesis Unlimited [1] Sweet Revenge for Free Online Page A

she could only nod. Up to this point, Dalton hadn’t spoken at such length. More than the extent of his speech, however, she was shocked by how powerfully he’d been affected by the dehumanizing conditions within the prison. Easier for her to believe that he was an unfeeling beast, driven only by an animal need for revenge. The bleakness in his voice belied this.
    “Then you’ll find the garments we’ve provided more to your liking.” Her words were flippant, her thoughts anything but.
    “Pull over,” he said.
    “Carriage sick?” asked Marco.
    “I’m supposed to change, ain’t I? So pull over and I’ll change.”
    But Simon shook his head. “We’ll lose time if we stop. You’ll have to do it in the carriage.”
    Dalton shot her a glance.
    “The bodies of men are no mystery to me, Mr. Dalton,” she said. “I won’t fall unconscious at the sight of yours.”
    “I’d wager not much would make you faint.”
    “She can pull a bullet out of a man without the bat of an eyelash,” Marco said cheerfully. “Took one out of my thigh, calm as a lake. And I’ve got a pretty little scar for a souvenir.”
    Dalton chuckled, and the unexpected sound tumbled over her skin like rough velvet. “The bullyboys of the East End would find you damn useful.”
    “Sadly for them,” she replied, “I already have employment. Perhaps it’s your delicate sensibilities that are disturbed, Mr. Dalton, by the thought of undressing in my presence.”
    A corner of his mouth turned up. “Never dare me, love.”
    She most assuredly didn’t like him calling her love, but she merely folded her arms over her chest and waited.
    Dalton sent glances toward Simon and Marco. “If she becomes lust crazed by the sight of me in the altogether…”
    Simon snorted. “We’ll protect your honor should she assault you.”
    Dalton grinned, a flash of white teeth in the darkness. “Don’t.”
    “Oh, get on with it!” She cursed the short temper that allowed her to be so easily baited.
    He shrugged his wide shoulders. Then grabbed the hem of his smocklike shirt and pulled it over his head.
    Forcibly, she kept her lips pressed together, refusing to make even a single sound of shock or amazement. But, good Lord . The man was … astonishing. Every muscle in his arms and on his torso was sharply defined, as though the primal essence of masculinity had been pared to its elemental state. Oh, she’d seen many bare-chested men, including Simon and Marco, but they were lean where Dalton was broad, men shaped by training, whereas hard labor had formed Dalton into unfettered strength.
    Not a dram of extra flesh. He seemed forged from iron, like a brutal but effective weapon.
    Against the shrill warnings of her better judgment, her gaze moved across the breadth of his chest, noting the dark hair dusting his pectorals and trailing down in a line along his ridged abdomen. And lower.
    “Careful, love.” His deep voice dragged her attention back up to his face. “You’ll set the carriage to blazing.”
    She forced herself to turn to Marco. “Hand me your pack.”
    He did so, and she rifled through it until she found what she sought. Pulling out a canteen, she gave it an experimental shake. It sloshed, revealing that it was full. Little surprise, as all Nemesis operatives kept themselves in a continual state of preparedness. “Water?” she asked.
    “Grappa’s in the flask,” he answered.
    She would definitely want that. Later. Right now, water suited her needs.
    Tossing the canteen and a handkerchief from her reticule to Dalton, she said, “Doesn’t matter how you’re dressed if your face is filthy.” Since neither she nor Marco and Simon were disguised as laborers, Dalton’s grimy appearance would certainly attract attention on the train.
    The little scrap of fabric looked like an elf’s frippery in Dalton’s large hand, its snowy white cotton contrasting with his brown hands. He eyed it warily.
    “It’s just a handkerchief,” she