Men? Have a Shoe Fetish??

I have the witty, fabulous Vonnie Davis with me today, and we're talking about her new romantic suspense Mona Lisa's Room, along with sharing some pictures of our favorite hot heels! Kick yours off, put your feet up and stay a while! Whoot!

AJ, hugs to you for having me here today to talk about my latest release, MONA LISA’S ROOM. This is my first romantic suspense and also the first of a trilogy. Each book tells the romance of a different couple, yet includes the same group of terrorists, The Red Hand.

You know how I love to laugh. In this series, I’m allowing more humor to flavor my stories, perhaps to offset the distaste of violence the terrorists wreak on innocent people.

My heroine is an American art teacher who’s traveled to Paris. She’s recently divorced from a man who’d ignored her in favor of other men (‘nuff said there) and is unsure of her femininity. Her soul is starving for a man’s touch.

On Alyson’s second day in Paris, she unwittingly foils a bombing attempt and finds herself in the middle of a terrible mess. Her passport is stolen and a crazed terrorist is out to kill her for sketching his likeness, thus ending his elaborate death ruse he’d used to fly under Interpol’s radar.

Enter a younger French government agent, assigned to protect her. Niko is arrogant, pushy and too touchy-feely for her tastes. To protect her, he wants her to blend with other Parisian women. This means she has to abandon her baggy capris and flip-flops and wear skirts and stilettos. To achieve this, he takes her shopping for shoes. This bit of intro takes us to the excerpt I’m sharing…

Niko perched on the stool at Alyson’s feet, opened the first box and deftly flicked back the tissue paper on a pair of black kidskin pumps with skinny gold looking heels. “It’s rumored Da Vinci invented the high heel.” He removed her flip-flops and placed her bare foot on his thigh. Warmth from his muscled leg flowed up hers, causing her foot to give an involuntary wiggle.

His gaze lifted to hers and locked. Slowly he slid his hand from her heel up her leg to cup her calf. Thank God she shaved her legs that morning. “Stop.” The rawness of her voice surprised her. His touch made her very aware of her body, and her body was very aware of him. She couldn’t count the years since she was touched in such a manner—if ever.

Still, it was nice to know she could respond to a man’s touch. Thanks to her ex-husband’s avoidance, she thought herself sexually dead, certainly sexually unappealing.

“High heels do wonders for a woman’s figure, Aly. They make the legs look long and shapely, lift the bottom and make the hips sway.” His hands moved in a descriptive manner while he talked. “They make a woman look sexy and confident. Men’s eyes naturally pivot to a woman in stilettos.” Niko shrugged. “We can’t help it. We are men, after all. Weakened by women.”

Alyson stared at him. Men made weak by women? She’d never heard such talk, especially from a male, a very virile male if looks meant anything. He was gorgeous, arrogant as all get out, but gorgeous just the same.

Niko slipped the shoes onto her feet, stood and extended his hand. “Stand. See how you like the feel.” His gaze focused on hers again and for a second or two, when she looked into his eyes, her world stopped.

She vetoed the four-inch stilletos Niko favored in five painful, toe-pinching steps. Good Lord, a girl could get nosebleeds in those things.

Ten minutes later, Alyson wobbled in front of the cashier ready to pay for the black kidskin three-inch Pradas she wore. As soon as she saw the bow at the back of the heel, she fell in love with the shoes. Gwen called her a “bow freak.” When Niko reached for his wallet, she elbowed him. “Look, as long as they take Visa, I’ll pay for my own shoes.”

“Please, allow me.”

“Absolutely not. I planned on having an expensive birthday meal at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant tomorrow. With all that’s happened today, that plan is ruined, too. So I’m rationalizing since I won’t be paying for my birthday meal, I can pay this ungodly amount for the shoes.”

Niko placed his hand over hers. “I don’t mind. Let me treat you since I goaded you into buying them.”

“Really, that’s not necessary. Even my husband…er…ex-husband never bought me things. I’ve always paid my own way.”

He leaned an elbow on the glass counter and looked at her. “You’re kidding me. He never bought you little surprises? Little treats? A woman like you should be spoiled, treasured—” his voice lowered as he slowly trailed a finger up her arm  “—loved often and well.” Merciful heavens, he was trying to seduce her in a shoe store. Gwen would squeal in delight when she told her about this.

“Down, buster. American women are different than French women. We’re not so easily seduced by glib words or smooth moves.”

His eyebrow arched and his demeanor turned insolent. “You think I’m trying to seduce you?”

Typical male. He touched her almost nonstop since they stepped into Minelli’s. Now that she called him on it, he wanted to deny everything. “I think you’re toying with me, seeing if you can make an old, lonely American woman quiver at your feet.”

“First of all, you’re not old. Second, if you’re lonely, that’s your fault. Third, if I wanted to make you quiver—” he leaned in, his lips against her ear  “—I damn well could.”

BLURB:

Gwen,
You won't believe this email. I'm sitting in a French safe house, eating caviar and drinking champagne with a handsome government agent, Niko Reynard. He's wearing nothing but silk pajama bottoms and mega doses of sex appeal. I'm in big trouble, little sister. He's kissed me several times and given me a foot massage that nearly caused spontaneous combustion. I'm feeling strangely virginal compared to the sexual prowess this thirty-year-old man exudes.

When I came to Paris for a bit of adventure, I never imagined I'd foil a bombing attempt, karate-kick two men, and run from terrorists while wearing a new pair of stilettos. I've met a German musician, a gay poet from Australia, and the most delightful older French woman.

Don't worry. I'm safe--the jury's still out on yummy Niko, though. The more champagne I drink, the less reserved I feel. What an unforgettable fortieth birthday!
Alyson

Don't forget to pick up a copy of Vonnie's latest Mona Lisa's Room, available through The Wild Rose Press in both print and e-book or at Amazon! (<-- just click the links!)

And you can contact Vonnie at her website: http://www.vonniedavis.com 

or her blog at: 

http://www.vintagevonnie.blogspot.com

Thanks for visiting with us today!

XO AJ XO