Daria Melnichenko knew what it meant to be claimed, controlled, and used. What she didn’t know was what to do with Braxton Thorin reaching for her hand simply because he wanted to touch her—no demand, no ownership, no hidden agenda. Just warmth, connection, and a tenderness she’d only thought existed in books.
I had never been with a man who reached for me simply because he wanted to. Not out of dominance, not to stake a claim, not as a prelude to sex. Just a touch, a connection, as natural as breathing.
Butterflies—actual butterflies—fluttered in my stomach, something light and unfamiliar stirring in my chest.
I’d always thought that was just some romantic notion, a dreamy fantasy only found in books.
~Daria Melnichenko, Mission Shift
About this Daria Melnichenko quote
This Daria Melnichenko quote comes from Mission Shift by Evie James, the third and final book in the Broken Heroes trilogy. After days of running through a war zone with Braxton Thorin, Daria begins to understand that his touch is different from anything she’s known. He doesn’t reach for her to dominate, control, or take—he reaches for her with steady, ordinary affection, and that quiet tenderness unsettles her more than danger ever could. Their story blends enemies to lovers tension, forced proximity, secret identity, fish out of water danger, kidnapping, romantic suspense, Russian mafia stakes, and a war-zone romance where trust becomes as dangerous as desire.
Read more about Mission Shift or explore the Broken Heroes trilogy.