Rhal Part 1 (Scifi Alien Serial Romance) (The Ujal) by Erin Tate

Chapter One
     
    Rhal fa Adar was a liar, an asshole, and the sexiest man—Ujal—Cara had ever seen. Too bad the sexy couldn’t make up for the lying asshole tendencies. In that way, Ujal males were no different than humans. Oh, Rhal had gone on and on about integrity and honor and strength and everything that made high guards—warriors closest to the prince—so damn special.
    She wondered where lying fit in with the integrity. Did they live side by side in his head or did they tag team? Did they alternate days? Monday, Wednesday, and Friday were designated integrity days? Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday he got to be a liar? They alternated Sundays?
    The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. And the angrier she got, the more her eyes burned with tears. And the more her eyes burned with tears, the angrier she got until she was blindly running down the halls of UST—Ujal Station Tau. They were empty at this time, the employees either gathered around televisions to watch the press conference with Prince Tave and Principessa Rina or were catching it at home.
    A press conference she’d attended for a few minutes. She’d snuck in behind a camera crew, pretending to be part of the group.
    “I have a question?” She waited for Rina’s nod. “What about children? Are previously human Ujal mates capable of carrying hatchlings?”
    Cara would have asked Rina privately, would have waited until her best friend had time for a cup of coffee or something, but then things had been so whip-fast for Rina and Tave. From meet to mate in what seemed like a tornado. And then Rina had been hauled to Tau for a week before she reappeared for the press conference to discuss human-Ujal matings. Changes. The Population Ministry. The Intergalactic Mating Agency. All of it.
    And by the time that’d happened, Cara had been overcome with the need to know . Because Rhal’s last words to her ripped at her mind every hour of the day. He’d gone to Tau with Rina and Tave, but he had to talk to her first. He had to tell her… “I can never mate you. I want hatchlings, Cara, and those you cannot give me.”
    Then he’d walked.
    Ran, more like it. Cara chuckled, and that was followed by a sob, the sound ripped from her throat. She swallowed the next and pressed her lips together to suppress the third. She wouldn’t break down in the middle of UST. She wouldn’t. She was a professional, and she’d act like one. All she had to do was keep it together until she got to the beach house she rented from Rina. Fifteen minutes tops. Grab her purse. Hop on a hovobus, walk a few blocks, and done.
    Cara strode down the hallway, making her last turn before she stood in front of her office door. She pressed her thumb to the identipad and waited for the red light to turn green. Then the locks retracted, granting her access. She didn’t bother turning on the lights, merely moved around the small space from memory. She wasn’t one of the lucky ones with a window to the outside, so there was no ambient light to make her way clear, but she didn’t need it. She skirted one of the two chairs in front of her desk and then strode to the larger piece of furniture. She bent and yanked on her drawer, tugging it open and—
    And a large, cool hand encircled her wrist. The skin was damp, and the lingering scent of the sea tickled her nose. She couldn’t see who’d grabbed her, but she didn’t need to.
    “ Rhal ,” she spat his name. “What are you doing in here?”
    She wouldn’t ask how he got in. Or how he managed to get from one end of UST to the other before her. He’d done the impossible more than once, teasing her with his tricks until he reminded her there were dozens of ocean-based access points within the station and as one of the prince’s high guards, he knew—and had access to—them all.
    “Cara…” The way he said her name—a deep, husky whisper—had her trembling, and that infuriated her even more.
    She yanked her arm from his