Rhal Part 2 (Scifi Alien Serial Romance) (The Ujal) by Erin Tate Page A

Right, she’d keep telling herself that and maybe one day she’d believe it.
    The group continued to approach, growing larger in her vision as they closed in on her. It’d still be another five minutes before they drew abreast of her small house, but she kept her gaze trained on them anyway. Might as well enjoy the men coming and going.
    The house phone rang, the tone cutting through her thoughts, and she quickly snatched the wireless receiver from the small table beside her. She didn’t even have to bother checking caller ID. There was only one person who tried to call her this early and at exactly the same time each morning—Rina.
    “Heya.” She swallowed a mouthful of coffee. “How goes it?”
    “Depends. How are you?” There was no missing the concern in Rina’s voice.
    This was the same game they’d played since her friend had dropped her at home after their interesting visit to the Population Ministry. Same shit, different day.
    “I’m fine, Rina.” She sighed. “Just like I was yesterday and the day before and the day—”
    “Oh, you weren’t fine two days ago.”
    Yeah, there was no arguing that one. “Okay, well, I’m fine now .”
    “Fine enough to come back to work?”
    Cara groaned. She didn’t really wanna, but she didn’t have much of a choice either. “That depends. Will I be assigned to…”
    That part of the building. The part where Rhal trained the younglings. Cara’s job included random inspections of every department on the station. She wasn’t assigned to one department, she was assigned to them all. Which was good and bad. At the moment, the bad was due to the possibility of seeing Rhal. Between his rejection and the Population Ministry, she was so not ready to face him.
    “I talked to, you know who, and told him what was what. He said you can work where ever you want as long as you come back because I’m apparently a pain in his tail when I don’t have you nearby.”
    Cara couldn’t help laughing and could imagine Tave’s frustration. Since Rina was pregnant, Tave refused to allow her to do anything and it was only when Cara was with Rina that her friend relaxed.
    “So by coming back, I’d be doing the Ujal prince a personal favor and—”
    “Hey, you’d be doing me a favor too,” Rina pouted.
    “Uh-huh. But maybe I want him to grant me a favor. Yours are always lame and you whine when you don’t like what I’m asking you to do.”
    “Hey now, I—”
    “Remember that time in seventh grade and I asked you to call Joey—”
    Rina gasped. “He was the most popular kid in school! I wasn’t gonna pick up the phone and—”
    “Exactly why I want the favor from Tave.”
    “What, you want my mate to call Joey Falconi?”
    Cara smiled widely. “Nah, maybe later. I want a little prince freebie in the bank.”
    “Whatever, I didn’t want to help your flat ass anyway.”
    “Flat?” She snorted. “I’ll have you know I’m way more bootylicious than you. I so have more junk in the trunk than—”
    A low, masculine chuckle drew her attention and she turned her head and focused on the source of the sound. “Uh, I got company, princess.”
    “It’s principessa. Don’t ask me why because I don’t get the need for the extra letters, but it is what it is.”
    “Fine,” she grumbled. “I have company, principessa .”
    “Oooh… Is it Rhal?”
    A trident spearing her heart could hurt no less. No, it’d never be Rhal ever again. “No, Niax stopped by. Tell his highness I’ll be in on time and I appreciate the leniency.”
    “Ugh. Kiss ass.”
    “One hundred percent.” No lie. “I’ll see you soon.”
    “Yeah, yeah,” her best friend grumbled, then the line went silent.
    Cara pressed a button on her phone, ending her half of the conversation so she could talk to Niax. Staring at him, his sparkling green eyes, hunter green hair, and bare chest, and not for the first time she wondered why she couldn’t have fallen for him instead of Rhal. Niax was