There is nothing like a romantic massage to put two people physically and emotionally "in the mood." This is especially true when the relationship is still new, and you're still trying to figure out how to communicate the fact that you'd like the evening to end in bed with each other. And even if you've been a couple for a long, long time, there's still something so comforting about each other's touch...

But the perfect romantic massage is so much more than a simple backrub - no matter how skilled your hands are. Here are five basics that will guarantee that he or she will beg you for more!

Make sure the room is warm. This sounds obvious, and it is, but sometimes in our haste to strip down and start rubbing, we forget little details, i.e. goosebumps are not sexy and a cold body is not conducive to free-flowing libido! Start a fire in the fireplace, crank up the space heater, but make sure the room is warm enough to be comfortably naked in!

Ambiance, ambiance, ambiance. Now that the room is nice and toasty warm, think about atmosphere and "setting the mood." You can't have too many candles - in fact, more is definitely better! Even if your sweetie is allergic to artificial scents, unscented candles burn just as pretty. My advice is to use candles in jars. The flame reflecting off the glass is pretty, and the jar also guarantees that you won't have any dripped wax to clean up the next morning. Speaking of which, nothing ruins a perfectly good mood like having hot wax drip on your massagee, or worse yet, a house fire started by an overturned candle ("Gee Mr. Fireman, the reason that all our clothes got burned up is..."). Keep all candles far away from where you're, uh, working.

Think about music, too. It should be something soothing and relaxing, bt not so soothing and relaxing that you or your partner fall asleep. After all, the whole point of the massage is to lead to something other than somnambulance! Conversely, a heavy metal CD is also right out. It's hard to massage someone when they're headbanging. My personal massage music favorites are: Big Band, light jazz, native American flute, and Motown. You know, music I don't have to think too hard about!

Pick a good oil. Baby oil is nice, but a little thin. Specially made massage oil is better, and can be found at most bath and body stores or health food co-ops. When my husband Alex and I got married, one of my favorite wedding presents was a bottle of patchouli massage oil from Makes Scents at www.makesscentsonline.com. Whatever oil you choose to use, use it liberally! Which leads to the next tip...

Pick an easily washed surface. It's hard to relax and enjoy giving or receiving a massage if you're worried about all that oil on your designer sheets. If you don't have a cheap set of sheets to lay across a sofa or on the bed, get them. They don't have to be SpongeBob Squarepants on sale, but Wal-Mart usually carries a line of cheap sheets in just about any color. And for those prices, if you only want to use them for massages, you can!

Use a slow technique. Smoothing your well-oiled hands slowly and deeply along your lover's body is what is going to feel the best for both of you. By slow I mean sloooooow - even if you think you're going slow, slow down some more! By deep I mean not quite enough to qualify as deep tissue massage (unless you've been to massage school and you know how to do it), but deep enough that you know you're rubbing muscle. He or she will love it, I promise!

If you're unsure about basic, hands-on technique, there are lots of books and websites with the information you need. It never hurts to do a little pre-massage reading!

Good luck, and happy rubbing!