course."
"Then I'll see you upstairs." As Victoria made her way toward the exit, Jax could see a lot of eyes following her progress. The woman had a charismatic presence. When she got to the entryway, she ran into an equally attractive woman, but one much different from her. It was Maya.
Night and day, he thought, a scrappy brunette versus a cool blonde. While most people would probably think that no one could hold a candle to Victoria, he was much more drawn to Maya. He'd missed her the last few hours, and that stunned him. He'd never been a man who needed to have a woman around all the time. In fact, he didn't need anyone around all the time. He'd gotten used to being alone, and that state felt the most natural to him.
As Maya headed in his direction, he suddenly realized that having Maya greet him like an old friend in front of Ryland was not a good idea. He spun around, grabbed an empty bottle and moved toward the back room behind the bar. He felt like an ass for cutting and running, but he needed to keep some space between them while he was at the club.
One of the servers entered the room, giving him a curious look. "Are you looking for something?" she asked.
"Yeah, I didn't see any more bottles of Baikal at the bar," he quickly lied.
"Top shelf," she said, as she grabbed a bag of bar mix and headed out front.
He tossed the empty bottle into the recycle bin, grabbed the Baikal and waited one more second before returning to the bar. Jagger was gone, but Maya was sitting at the bar with a speculative look on her face.
He put the bottle on a shelf. "Hi there. If you're looking for Constantine, he's in the private bar area, through the curtain over there."
"Sylvia asked me to wait for her here, and she would take me to him."
"Okay. Do you want a drink?"
"No, I think I should keep a clear head."
"All right."
She licked her lips. "Jax, did you see me coming toward you and bail?"
"No. I had to get a bottle of Baikal from the back room."
"At the same second I walked in?"
"Coincidence. A customer was asking for it."
"Who? Where? You just put it on the shelf." She gave him a pointed look.
"He said he'd be back later to get it."
She didn't look entirely convinced. "Do you not want to be seen with me, Jax?"
"I really just went to get the bottle, Maya."
Her steady gaze told him she wasn't buying his excuse for one second. "Fine," she said, letting it drop. "Ryland Jagger also took off when he saw me. I'm having a great effect on men tonight. I tried to waylay him. I said I needed to talk to him, and he told me that I'd already upset his father, and he has nothing to say to me."
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, he was headed upstairs to a pool party with Victoria, so I don't know that your arrival was the reason he left."
"I guess talking to me about Natasha wouldn't compete with a party with Victoria and her beautiful friends."
"Probably not." He paused. "I need to take care of some customers," he said, thankful that a group of six was descending on the bar. If Sylvia was on her way to meet Maya, he didn't care to be a part of that, either.
"Okay, but Jax…can we talk later?"
He couldn't resist the pretty plea in her eyes. "Sure, but not here. I'm trying to prove myself, and Sylvia doesn't like it when I'm too friendly with the customers."
"I understand. You're busy."
"How about later? I'm off at ten tonight. I can come by your place after that."
"Great." Relief flooded her gaze. "You were a good sounding board earlier, and I'm going to need someone to talk to after I speak to Constantine."
"You got it. Good luck."
He moved down the bar to take drink orders, knowing he probably shouldn't be going anywhere near Maya after work. But when she was around, he couldn't seem to say no to anything she wanted.
Chapter Nine
Maya felt a wave of longing mixed with lust as she watched Jax smile at the group of women in front of him. He was so attractive she felt a yearning ache in her gut. She'd spent most of the afternoon telling herself he was not that great. But she couldn't lie to herself. He was one of the most handsome