The Princess and her Bounty Hunter: Alien Romance (Fated to the Alien: The Psychic Matchmaker Book 2) by Harmony Raines

“Easy.”
    “I just need to rest for a minute.”
    “You look done in. It’s going to take more than a minute for you to recover.”
    “No, I’m fine.”
    “No, you’re not.” He lifted her up into his arms, and she couldn’t help it, she rested her head against his chest, liking the sound of his heartbeat in her ear. It was comforting, somehow.

Chapter Nine – Mak
    His muscles clenched, and not just those of his arms. Every part of him contracted, wanting to close around her and protect her.
    “Heart rate elevated,” Stellia said helpfully.
    He growled. Deep in his chest the rumbling vibrated out, making other parts of his body come alive. Being attracted to her was not a thing he had anticipated. Up until he met her, he had considered all women, and princesses in particular, to be a pain in the ass.
    Unless he wanted to take her to his bed, which didn’t happen often these days
    Unlike many of the other bounty hunters, he was not a girl-in-every-star-port kind of guy. Women were few and far between, and as he had matured, the in-betweens had become longer. On day he hoped to find the right woman to settle down with and raise a family. Could this princess fulfill all of his needs?
    Damn it, he was picturing himself living in a fairy tale. And everyone knew those things were not real!
    “Set a heading for the planet Kalisov,” he ordered Stellia.
    “No,” the woman in his arms protested, lifting her head and then placing her hands on his chest to push back from him. “I’m not going home.”
    “Yes, you are. I have a job to do, a bounty to hunt down, and you have already wasted enough of my time,” he said, his jaw clenching, his feelings once more returning to irritation. Did she really think she could order him around? On his own ship?
    “I am not going home. You can drop me off at the nearest space port.”
    “No. I am taking you back to your home planet, and back to your father,” he said, through teeth that ground together. Mainly to stop himself saying any more. Mak was not good at holding his tongue, not unless there was a bounty involved.
    “Please,” she said, and her eyes conveyed such emotion, he wanted to look into them, dive into them and be lost to her. Romantic rubbish .
    “Give me one good reason why not? I’m suspecting your father has money and would be more than willing to compensate me for my time and trouble if I return you to him.”
    “Is that all everyone is to you? A way to earn money?” she spat, her strength returning enough to look at him with loathing.
    “No. But I’m not a charity either. If you were poor, I’d return you for free, but if Daddy can pay, then why shouldn’t he?”
    Her face was so pale, she reminded him of a frozen moon, yet the heat in her eyes was still there, burning hot. “I have money.”
    “I don’t want it.” His conscience wouldn’t rest if anything happened to her out here in space. “Space is not safe for a princess alone.”
    “It’s more than my father will pay you. Please.”
    Her teeth were chattering, she looked on the verge of exhaustion, and he wondered how she still stood on her feet. This must mean a lot to her. Now he understood: she was running away, maybe she had fallen in love with an unsuitable man and was eloping, only to get stranded on that foul planet.
    “Make me an offer,” he said.
    “I don’t have money,” she said, wriggling out of his grasp completely.
    “I don’t work on promises and credit,” he said bluntly.
    “I could have guessed that,” she retorted, tearing at the lining of her jacket. “I have these.”
    She took out a ring and matching necklace. Holding them in her hand, she offered them to him. He moved to take the ring, sensing her attachment to it, as her fingers involuntarily curled around it.
    “I want to check they’re not fake.”
    “They’re not. They were my mother’s. The finest Darkarian rubies.” Her voice caught in her throat. Running away must mean an awful lot to