Page 15 of My Tiny Giant

We crashed to the ground together, just behind the tree line. Agan shielded me with his wide back, but I peeked around his shoulder to see the suit explode.

It disintegrated into a shower of small metal fragments, impossible for anyone to reverse-engineer. The shards hit the surrounding foliage, raining to the ground.

Agan rose on his elbows, hovering over me when the thunder of the explosion quieted.

“Sorry about your suit,” he said, his gaze gliding along my face.

The velvety, tawny fur that covered his body was even shorter on his face. So short and smooth that it was almost invisible, save for the golden sheen brought out by the morning sun. The hard ridge of his jawline, the bridge of his nose, and his high cheekbones appeared highlighted by a golden glow.

The sunrays pierced through the leaves of the jungle. They got caught in his wavy, sandy-blond hair and the neatly trimmed sideburns, painting them with gold. Edged by sunlight, his handsome face looked like a picture in a gilded frame.

A pretty gorgeous picture, too...

Where did that thought come from? What was it all about? How could I dislike a man so much yet deeply admire his appearance at the same time?

“You’re so...” he said softly, exploring my face, his eyes the same brilliant green as the jungle foliage around us. The earth-brown color of his eyebrows darkened to the rich chocolate on his long, thick eyelashes. “...furless,” he blurted out, one of his shapely eyebrows twitching up. “Your skin is completely hairless.”

His words snapped me out of my sudden reverie.

Agan was a prick, I reminded myself. Maybe a very good-looking one, but still a misogynistic prick who thought women were better off in a brothel than on a battlefield.

“Don’t worry about my suit.” I made a move to wiggle free from under him. “No war is without loss, is it?”

Losing my suit was devastating. This was the second suit I’d lost during my entire career. After the first one, I’d told myself not to get attached to them anymore. But it was hard not to. I practically lived inside that thing. It protected me and made me stronger. And now, it was gone...

I couldn’t believe I’d gotten distracted even for a second by these gorgeous green eyes and by the awareness of Agan’s large, hard body on top of mine.

“We need to get going.” I shifted some more since he wouldn’t move off me and I couldn’t free myself on my own. The reminder of just how much weaker I was without my suit was depressing.

“Of course.” He got up, finally.

I drew in a lungful of air, climbing to my feet.

“Well, I hope you slept well since we need to march all the way to the base on foot, now. There’s no flying for either of us without the suit.” I stifled a sigh.

Agan already had his belt on, his knives sheathed, his breastplate in place.

“Let’s see.” He took out his map, consulting it briefly. “This is the clearing...” He pointed at the spot on the map that depicted the place where we’d spent the night. “We need to keep following the creek for about an hour.”

Without my suit, Adan’s map was the best option we had to orientate ourselves in this jungle. The Ravils’ inherent sense of direction was generally superior to humans. Besides, he was local to this world. I decided to trust him.

“Let’s go then.” I made sure my laser knife was still in the pocket on my sleeve. The material of my bodysuit hugged it snuggly, taking the elongated shape of the handle.

“We’ll stop for lunch in a few hours,” Agan said, heading into the jungle. His thoughts had obviously moved on from my disintegrated suit.

With my last ration bar now gone, my next meal would have to be one of those lizard or snake things that Agan had been eating. Not that it bothered me, I’d eaten worse things than that during some of my past missions and endurance exercises.

“I want to cover as much ground as possible before we’ll have to stop.” Agan walked ahead of me. “Since we’re moving at a slower pace, now.”

The last remark felt like a jab at me. It hurt, but I couldn’t argue with that. My speed of walking just wasn’t the same without my suit. I said nothing, focusing on keeping up instead.

“You’re awfully quiet this morning,” Agan observed after a little while.

He’d been walking half a step ahead, frequently checking on me over his shoulder.

“I’m keeping my focus on the surroundings since it doesn’t look like you are,” I snapped.

“What do you mean?” He frowned, darting his gaze around quickly.