The HUMP DAY HOOK

It's Wednesday -- time for the HUMP DAY HOOK, a weekly blog meme where authors post a portion of their writing. I'm not sure how much to put up, so I've just given a complete conversation.

Follow this link for a complete listing of this week's participants: Hump Day Authors. And you can find links to these posts on twitter using the hashtag #HDH.

My excerpt today comes from Loving Leonardo - The Quest. This is part 2 in my unusual Victorian, polyamorous love story told with a touch of reader-interactive art history.

Setting the stage: Nicolas, Ellie and Luca discuss the artist's methods as they pore over Leonardo da Vinci's book looking for clues to love messages the artist left for his lover Salai. They realize some of Leonardo's techniques work well outside the realm of art, namely blindfolds to remove one sense to enhance the rest. Deprived of sight, they give over to their other senses.

I could see why Leonardo blindfolded himself. Submerged in touch and sound, scent and taste, I understood why he sought this heightened sensitivity. Deprived of sight, it was as if I’d been handed a key to unlock my other senses. The dichotomy of experiencing Luca’s firm well-muscled body and Ellie’s soft slender curves in complete sightlessness thrilled me beyond comprehension. Their breathy sighs and gasps filled my ears. Even the small hairs on my skin were as whiskers on a cat with which to feel their bodies in the stygian night. I maneuvered on and around my lovers. The lavender ghost of their soap mingled with their heady musk of desire, and I tasted the salt and clean sweat of exertion upon their skin. All of it: sound, taste, touch, and scent painted a picture in my imagination. They were two exquisite dreams made flesh, and I swear I saw the glow of their souls through my blind eyes. We praised one another’s perfection with an eye for detail that da Vinci himself would have surely applauded.

Here's part 1 in the story