A Hard Day's Night-Searcher
Dark-Hunter Series - Book 17
Short Story in My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding Anthology
By Sherrilyn Kenyon
St. Martin's Press - November 2006
Rafael Santiago didn't know if he should turn his Squire over to the Celena, a Blood-Rite Squire who would likely kill him, or if he should simply kill Jeff himself for being so stupid. Either way, Jeff was dead for having written a story with thinly-veiled references to the Dark-Hunters, Daimons, and their world. In life when he had been a feared pirate, Rafe would have killed Jeff himself, but death had a way of reforming a man.
Of course when Celena arrived, Rafe immediately turned the tables to defend Jeff. Not only did he like the kid, but sparring with Celena was probably the closest thing to fore-play he'd ever have with her. Rafe was a Dark-Hunter, Celena a Squire. The rules forbade relations between the two, and Celena was nothing if not a rule-follower.
But he could turn that against her. In one week, if she didn't break any rules, he'd hand Jeff over to her. Celena may think she's got this bet in the bag, but she doesn't anticipate on Rafe using all his seductive skills. He's definitely one rule she'd like to break.
This is perhaps the most light-hearted Dark-Hunter story yet, which is perhaps a good thing considering how dark the series has been getting. Rafe's reaction to Jeff's story had me laughing out loud from the beginning to end. It takes all Rafe's will not to get upset, and Jeff is so ignorant of the ramifications. Then there is Celena and her rules. I sometimes wondered if Rafe would kill her before he decided to love her. A Hard Day's Night-Searcher is plain fun.
The drawback is that it is part of a collection with a total of nine stories, so it is a bit short. It is truly an individual decision whether or not it is worth buying My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding in trade solely for a Dark-Hunter story not even fifty pages long.
Kathy Andrico - ReaderToReader.com