The Highwayman: by Michele Hauf

The Highwayman (Silhouette Nocturne)
By: Michele Hauf
Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Silhouette (July 1, 2009)
ISBN-13: 978-0373618156

Max Fitzroy, the legendary Highwayman, had slain scores of demons with a razorlike whip and a burning need for revenge. Now, to rid himself of the demon inside him—who’d cursed him with immortality and stolen all sensual pleasures—Max needed a witch’s familiar, the one creature he’d made a career of killing. But the Highwayman wasn’t prepared for the familiar named Aby. The sleek and sexy conduit to the demon world saw past his swirling shadow as easily as he scaled the walls she’d erected to protect herself. Max needed Aby to grant him his freedom, and then he needed to slay her. But how could he destroy the only creature he’d desired in centuries?

First off, let’s talk about that cover shall we?  I love a good cover and this one is nice…very, very nice.  As K.C. at smokinhotbooks.com put it, “The fire, the lightening, the sexy pecks *whistle*”.  I’m feeling it!

First in the Wicked Games series by Michele Hauf, The Highwayman is a romantic tale of an immortal demon hunter who has a little case of demon-itis himself.  He seeks the help of a sultry witch’s familiar in his quest to rid himself of the demon shadow that lives within him that robs him of all life’s basic pleasures: food, sleep, and sexual satisfaction.

I found the hero, Max Fitzroy, to be sweet, a little awkward in the matters of love and courtship, and most importantly sexy, all wrapped up in a hard candy shell.  He has sworn to slay all demons and the familiars that bridge their way into this realm.  However, Aby has him rethinking his plan of action.

Aby, the sleek little kitten familiar, who managed to captivate Max from the moment he laid eyes on her is a little too trusting, a bit naive, but very likable.  She seeks independence away from her beloved guardian, Severo the werewolf, and eventually finds that she’s a kick ass little kitty in the process.

I have to admit, I kept expecting Severo the werewolf to put a beat down on Max at any moment but Max never took the bait.  The werewolf was willing though. That alpha male tension was present each time Severo was on the scene, and I think he’s my kind of paranormal male. I look forward to reading his story in Moon Kissed, the next book in the Wicked Games series.