i'm marina, your friendly neighborhood rusalka. oh, don't worry, i'm not stealing men's souls and luring them to a watery grave. i can survive on "borrowed" sexual energy, and with a college campus full of horny frat boys handy, i'm always full. of course, not everyone is happy that i've chosen a peaceful, harmless existence in pine ridge-especially koshchei. you could call him my demon overlord, but "petty vengeful jerk" works, too. when the big k discovers my disobedience, he's determined to make me pay. i need to exploit an ancient loophole-and fast. i'm going to need a husband. when i meet kev, i think i've met an easy mark. he's strong and protective, kind and caring, and always makes me laugh. best of all, he doesn't even realize the woman he's dating is a monster. love is blind-and that's a problem. the one man i need to use is the one i can't bear to hurt. *** i'll admit it. i have a thing for damsels in distress. i'm a lover, not a fighter. a healer, not a hurter. when i move to pine ridge and meet marina, i just can't figure her out. she draws me in like no one else, but she keeps trying to push me away. our physical chemistry is off the charts, but she seems genuinely freaked when i want to turn a fling into forever. when i find out she's in danger from a mysterious dude named big k, i don't even have to think about what i'll do. i'm going to show this joker that you don't mess with my girl-even if marina warns me i may end up dead trying to help her. so, all i have to do is deal with marina's crazy ex, keep my new job, and convince the woman i love that she should marry me. what could go wrong? the rusalka and mr. right is a steamy standalone in the pine ridge universe.