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

her.
    “And how much of a distance do you expect these Darkarian rubies to put between you and Kalisov?” he asked.
    She shook her head and her whole body wobbled with it. “I’m not running away.”
    “That’s not what it looks like. What’s wrong, fall in love with the wrong man?” He couldn’t resist trying to hurt her, although he knew it was petty. Only she didn’t react as he had imagined.
    “Is that what you think this is? Some personal goal of running from my life?” She shook her head. “But I suppose in your line of work, it’s always about self-gain.”
    “Ouch,” he said, placing his hand over his heart. “Now who is making unfounded judgments?”
    “Listen. I will give you these jewels, and you will take me to Haripor.”
    “Haripor?” he questioned. “What is…”
    She held her hand up. “There is something there I have to retrieve. Once we get it, you take me to the planet Rilan and I’ll give you the jewels. Then you can take me back to my father and claim your bounty.”
    “I don’t understand?”
    “You don’t have to,” she said. “You don’t have to understand, or ask questions, you just have to do it and get paid. Twice. That should appeal to a man like you.”
    “A man like me…” He nodded. “Deal.”
    “Good.” If it was possible, her skin grew paler, her hand reaching for the nearest solid object that would keep her on her feet. He made sure that object was him.
    Lifting her up, he carried her to the small bunk room where he slept, despite her assurances she could walk there herself. “I’m just protecting my investment.”
    With that he dumped her on the bed, turned around, tearing himself away from her, and left the room, shutting the door firmly behind him.
    “Stellia…”
    “Course set for Haripor,” she interrupted him.
    “Women,” he said, and went to the console and sat down, replaying everything that had happened in his head, trying to figure out what Tiana was up to. Blackmail sprung to mind. That would explain why she had her mother’s jewels with her in the first place.
    Unless she was spinning him a whole pack of lies. And he had heard them all before, he knew what people would do and say to get out of trouble. But she intrigued him, and despite his better judgment he wanted to see how this played out.
    Maybe this princess would bring him in a sum as big as the bounty he had almost certainly lost by delaying picking up the trail of Victor Ulha. For once, he found he didn’t care.

Chapter Ten – Tiana
    Was this the right thing to do? She still didn’t know if Larka had been kidnapped, but if she had, going to Haripor with that big hunk of man flesh was the surest way to get her back. He knew how to protect himself, and he would protect her, because she was his ticket to riches.
    Maybe she should try to get a message to Kilma first, before they went bursting into Haripor? she wondered as she lay still, half in a dream world, half in the real world, her body too exhausted to get itself out of bed. Although the stiffness in her bones told her she had been lying here much too long.
    And that might mean he had disregarded her offer and by now was close to her home planet, and her angry, disappointed father.
    With a groan, she hooked her leg off the side of the bed and heaved herself forward, swinging her legs around to plant her feet on the floor. It was then that she noticed that she had a lot less clothes on than she had gone to bed in.
    “Damn it!” Was the guy some kind of pervert too?
    As if to answer her question, the door opened, and, without knocking, he came in. The only thing that stopped her launching the kind of attack on him her brothers were afraid of was the tray of food in his hand.
    Her stomach rumbled so loudly, he must have heard it and a smile spread across his face. “Stellia said you were awake.”
    Tiana frowned. “Does Stellia know everything?”
    He dropped his voice conspiratorially. “She thinks she does.” He