Heart on Fire by Amanda Bouchet
The Kingmaker Chronicles, #3
Publication date: January 2,
2018
The riveting conclusion to The Kingmaker
Chronicles!
GODS.
I’M AN IDIOT.
Without Griffin—and
apparently a few meddling Gods—to push me along, I’d still be telling fortunes
at the circus, lying about my past, ignoring my future, and living as far away
from my tyrant mother as humanly possible.
True understanding thuds
into place. Hope isn’t just an abstract concept; it’s me. Flesh and blood me.
Griffin knew it all along. Probably everyone did. I’m an idea in human form.
I
have the power of the Gods at my fingertips.
The only thing ever stopping me has been me.
Read an Excerpt:
Griffin’s hand tightens on my arm.
I roll my eyes. “I’m not going to fall in, you know. The cliff is
all the way over there.”
He loosens his hold. Sort of.
I glance up at him, trying to tame my sudden smile. Domineering and
overprotective doesn’t even begin to describe my husband. There’s also
deliciously jealous, but that’s another subject all together. The black stubble
framing his mouth makes his full lips look impossibly kissable. It’s been hours
since they were last on mine. And I love to kiss the hawkish curve of his nose.
So strong and masculine. I adore that nose. And the rest of him. His powerful
body. Muscle. Sinew. Bone.
I gaze up at him, nearly sighing. “I love you.”
Griffin stops dead in his tracks and glares down at me. “That’s it.
We’re leaving.”
I blink. “What? Why?”
“You think something terrible is going to happen.”
“No, I don’t.” I frown. “I don’t think so.”
His eyes narrow, wariness hardening his expression. “You do.”
“What are you talking about?”
He scowls at me.
“Well, something terrible could happen,” I
concede. “But that’s always true, no matter where or when. Tomorrow, I could
trip over my own feet and break my neck for all I know.”
Judging by the look on Griffin’s face, I don’t think that helped.
“You only say you love me or you’re sorry when you’re scared or
almost dead. You’re not almost dead, so what’s scaring you?” he demands.
“I say I love you all the time!”
“When we’re in bed. When I’m so deep inside you that you can’t feel
anything but me. Not when we’re about to knock on a stranger’s door. What’s
scaring you?” he demands again.
I huff. “At the moment? The way your jaw is popping like it’s
alive.”
Griffin crosses his arms. “I want honesty. Right now.”
“Right now, Your Imperialness?”
His nostrils flare. His hard look is spectacular.
I’m not intimidated. It makes me hot. Then again, so does just about
everything at the moment, but not in the same way.
“If you must know, the magic around here is a little intense
and…disturbing, but it’s not scaring me. Not really. It’s probably just
something coming from whatever is down there in that God Pit,” I say, waving
toward the cliff. “I’m a shade nervous. That’s all.”
His eyes stay flinty and unconvinced. “That’s all? That’s not
generally cause for a heartfelt declaration, at least not from you.”
I toss my hands in the air. “Fine. I take it back. I looked at you,
found you incredibly desirable, and my body got all hot and tingly. I blame pregnancy
for an excess of sentimentality and…and…urges!”
Griffin stares at me. Then his mouth splits into a grin that makes
me all kinds of angry. He reaches for me again, his grasp lighter this time.
“Incredibly desirable?” Looking smug, he threads his fingers through
mine.
Scowling, I poke him in the chest with my free hand. “Well, you do
have that whole overbearing warlord thing going on. Plus, plenty of muscles in
all the right places, some good ideas, and, you know, a really big sword.”
A laugh cracks out of Griffin, and my heart swoops like an
off-balance bird. He’s rarely free with humor these days, or maybe there’s just
not enough of it in our lives anymore. The happy flutter that wings through my
chest takes any lingering irritation away with it.
Gah! Talk about mood changes!
Griffin captures my other hand and then pulls me in to him until I’m
standing between his legs. “I love you, too, Cat.”
He kisses me, his mouth pressing softly against mine. Warmth rolls
straight from his lips to my toes, which curl in my boots.
“Tell me again,” he coaxes.
I shake my head, our noses brushing.
“Say it,” he demands against my mouth.
“I don’t think so.”
“Last chance,” he warns, gently nipping at my lower lip.
“Big sword.”
Chuckling, Griffin swats my bottom. “There’s more where that came
from.”
I look up at him through my lashes. “I sure hope so.”
He grins. “I think you just managed coy.”
“Good Gods! Has the Underworld frozen over?”
“Next, Centaurs will fly.” He brushes his lips over mine again, not
lingering, and when he lifts his head, his black hair ruffling on the faintly
sulfurous wind, the teasing gleam is already absent from his eyes. “You’re sure
there’s nothing else?”
“Nothing besides our baby wreaking havoc on my moods?” I shake my
head. “But I wanted you before. I want you always.”
He lifts his hand and brushes his thumb across my lips. Then his
fingers fall away, trailing lightly down my arm until I shiver.
“You’re the air I breathe,” he says without a trace of humor in his
voice.
My whole chest clenches hard, squeezing a tight, almost painful beat
from my heart. “I admire you,” I reply. “I need you. I love you with all my
heart.”
Griffin offers me a different kind of smile this time, small,
lopsided, gentle, and so entirely genuine. It fades almost immediately, though,
and he straightens to his full, imposing height, abruptly pinning me with his
warlord stare. “If you feel anything off here, we leave, with or without the
potion we came for. You’ve got great instincts, Cat. Trust your gut.”
I nod. I will. I always do.
Meet the Author:
USA Today
bestselling author AMANDA BOUCHET
grew up in New England and studied French at the undergraduate and graduate
levels, first at Bowdoin College and then at Bowling Green State University.
She moved to Paris, France, in 2001 and has been there ever since. She met her
husband while studying abroad, and the family now includes two bilingual
children, who will soon be correcting her French. Connect with her at www.amandabouchet.com.
Find Amanda
Online:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmandaBouchetAuthor
Twitter: @AuthorABouchet
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14469474.Amanda_Bouchet
Giveaway Details & Entry Form:
Enter to win a bundle containing A Promise of Fire and Breath of Fire, the first two books in
Amanda Bouchet’s Kingmaker Chronicles!
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