Chapter Twenty one: Voss

Grayson Pov

I watched her leave fast, like the hounds of hell were on her heels.

Toast crumbs on her plate. Coffee untouched.

Skittish little thing.

I leaned back in my chair, fingers drumming on the polished wood. My eyes were still on the doorway she’d fled through.

She didn’t even realize, did she?

How much I’d been watching.

How hard it was to keep my distance.

Every time she walked into a room, I felt it. That pull. That need.

And damn it, I wasn’t the kind of man who needed.

But Isla Walker made me want.

I stood, shrugging on my jacket, but not before downing the rest of my coffee like it could drown out the ache clawing at my chest.

Enough of this.

I had a plan

She’d work off that debt, but on my terms. Close enough to keep. Far enough so I wouldn’t lose myself.

Maybe.

I left the dining room, steps slow, like I was buying myself time to think. The north wing wasn’t far. Neither was her room.

One conversation, I told myself. One moment. And then back to business.

I barely made