The Hollow by Nora Roberts

that himself. He didn’t mean the egg rolls.”
    Fox opened the bags. “Kaz is seventeen. A guy that age is pretty much always thinking about getting some. Any headache?”
    â€œNo. He was easy. Easier than you.”
    He smiled at her. “Guys my age think about getting some, too. But we usually know when it’s just going to be egg rolls. Let’s eat.”
    HE DIDN’T TRY TO KISS HER AGAIN, NOT EVEN when he drove her home. Layla couldn’t tell if he thought about it, and decided that was for the best. Her own thoughts and feelings were a tangle of frayed knots, which told her she’d need to take Fox’s advice and go for the meditation.
    She found Cybil on the living room sofa with a book and a cup of tea.
    â€œHi. How’d it go?”
    â€œIt went well.” Layla dropped into a chair. “Surprisingly well. I’m feeling a little buzzed, actually. Like I knocked back a couple of scotches.”
    â€œWant tea? There’s more in the pot.”
    â€œMaybe.”
    â€œI’ll get you a cup,” Cybil said when Layla started to rise. “You look beat.”
    â€œThanks.” Closing her eyes, Layla tried the yoga breathing, tried to envision relaxing from the toes up. She made it to her ankles when she gave it up. “Fox says I should meditate,” she told Cybil when Cybil came back with a fancy cup and saucer. “Meditation bores me.”
    â€œThen you’re not doing it right. Try the tea first,” she said as she poured some out. “And say what’s on your mind, it’s the best way to get it out of your mind so you can meditate.”
    â€œHe kissed me.”
    â€œI’m shocked and amazed.” Cybil handed Layla the cup, returned to the couch to curl her legs up. She gave a careless laugh when Layla frowned at her. “Sweetie, the guy’s got those foxy Fox eyes on you all the time. He watches you leave the room, watches you come back in. Boy’s got it bad.”
    â€œHe said— Where’s Quinn?”
    â€œWith Cal. Maverick found himself a card game, so Cal’s house is empty for a change. They’re taking advantage.”
    â€œOh. Good for them. They’re great together, aren’t they? Just click, click.”
    â€œHe’s the one for her, no question. All the others she tried out were like O’Doul’s.”
    â€œO’Doul’s?”
    â€œNear-love. Cal’s the real deal. Easier to talk about them than you?”
    Layla sighed. “It’s confusing to feel this way. To feel him feeling this way, and to try not to feel him feeling it. Because that’s only more confusing. Add in we’re working together on multiple levels, and that creates a kind of intimacy, and that intimacy has to be respected, even protected because the stakes are so damn high. If you mix it up with the separate physical or emotional intimacy of personal relationship and sex, how do you maintain the basic order needed to do what we’re all here to do?”
    â€œWow.” Lips curved, Cybil sipped her tea. “That’s a lot of thinking.”
    â€œI know.”
    â€œTry this. Simple and direct. Are you hot for him?”
    â€œOh God, yes. But—”
    â€œNo, no qualifiers. Don’t analyze. Lust is an elemental thing, potent, energizing. Enjoy it. Whether you act on it or not, it gets the blood moving. You’ll layer the rest onto it eventually. You’ll have to. You’re human and you’re female. We have to layer on emotions and concerns, consequences. But take the opportunity to appreciate the right now.” Cybil’s dark eyes sparkled with humor. “Enjoy the lust.”
    Layla considered as she sampled her tea. “When you put it that way. It feels pretty good.”
    â€œWhen you finish your tea, we’ll use your lust as your focus point to move into a meditation exercise.” Cybil smiled over the rim of her cup.