I mentioned in yesterday’s post that just about every species has some sort of dance as part of courtship. You see it all across the animal kingdom. But humans dance too. We call it dating. If gets serious, we work out a way to keep it forever  through forms of bonding – living together, commitment, marriage. My romances are all about this happy ever after dance. 🙂

So I did a little reading up on things we do in our courtship, those rituals we take for granted but whose origins go back to when we were first becoming human. There are interesting things like the correlation between male sweat and a woman’s reproductive cycles getting in sync with his higher testosterone days when she smells it. We give unconscious come-hither signals we don’t even know we make like licking our lips, swinging our leg, lust-dilated pupils and desire-warmed skin.

Then there’s the fact we possess scent-driven desire. We do, the mouth and nose are loaded with receptors for that very thing. Test yourself. Moisten your upper lip and sniff something. You just enhanced your sense of smell didn’t you? Moist lips catch scent and send it to the nose. That’s one of the reasons we kiss. There are hidden mating scents on a lover’s face. Today, it’s all about the kiss. Kissing fosters pair bonding and that ties it to survival of the species.

A good kiss, the kind that leaves you light-headed with longing, actually works on the brain the same way parachuting and bungee-jumping do. No kidding. The brain finds a good kiss every bit as exhilarating because it experiences a surge in chemicals, specifically the happy chemicals called dopamine, norepinephrine, and phenylethylamine. These neurotransmitters attach to pleasure receptors in the brain to create giddy feelings like euphoria and elation. And, because the brain gets high on these happy chemicals, kisses can be very addicting. Seriously addicting  to people who are susceptible to other addictions like alcohol, gambling, or drugs.

Hmm…I  like kisses. Wouldn’t you know,  I just happen to like poker, blackjack, and shooting craps too.  And that’s what I write romance.  🙂

Here’s a kiss that kisses my brain every time.

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Join us today at Romance Books ‘4’ Us

for author Liz Crowe’s blog day. She’s talking about meanness in the book industry. It unfortunately exists.
http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com

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I have a guest appearance over on The Four Seduced Muses blog today.
http://www.fourseducedmuses.com
I’m talking about the Doctrine of Signatures and foods as aphrodisiacs.
Believe me, it’s mild compared to other sizzling topics that get posted there!
Come see. 🙂

Two blog hops ahead on the satellite blogs. I’ll post the details as they come.

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Remember, The Romance Reviews’ Sizzling Summer Reads is a month-long event.
My part is over, but there are still prizes to be had. Click on this banner.