Please welcome the award-winning author, Kimberly Dean! Kimberly, welcome to Living After Midnight! Step On Up
The latest book in my Courting series, Courting Suspicion, releases next month, and the heroine has a clothing obsession to which many women can relate. Nina loves shoes. Stilettos, wedges, peep-toe pumps, or high-heeled boots, she has shoes for every situation. Being somewhat vertically challenged, she values the additional height heels give her, but shoes mean more than that to her. Her footwear reflects her mood. Her shoes are symbols of power, confidence, desire, and control.
Psychologists have studied human’s connection to footwear and believe the connection ties back to the process of growing up and learning to walk. Yet a University of Kansas study goes beyond that. When students were asked to analyze pictures of other students’ favorite shoes, they could accurately judge 90% of their owners’ personalities.
In Nina’s case, evaluators would identify a sexual, powerful woman, for she’s not only the CEO of Luxxor Limited, she’s a madam. The association of shoes with sex might seem like a tired cliché, but according to Daniel Amen, MD, author of The Brain in Love, "The area of the brain that communicates with the genitals is right next to the area that deals with the feet. These regions share neural crosstalk, which may be why shoes can be erotic."
In Courting Suspicion, sexy Nina is being pursued by gumshoe Morgan. When he catches her, the two are sure to knock boots!
So what are your favorite shoes, and what do they say about you?
Courting Suspicion
Chase Me, Catch Me, Take Me
Nina Lockwood has spent years building her company into a lucrative and powerful – albeit risky – business. As Washington DC’s most elite escort service, Luxxor Limited is known for its beautiful companions and its discretion. Nina has worked hard to keep her escorts safe and her company’s services invisible, yet everything she’s created is put in jeopardy when a bull-headed, sexy detective starts poking around.
Josh Morgan is the last man on earth she should be attracted to, but Nina can’t help it. A romance with a member of the Metro Police would be reckless, but she fantasizes about taking on her role of a D.C. madam in a more personal and pleasurable way...
Josh has always been suspicious of Luxxor’s line of work, but he’s more intrigued by the mystery of the woman who runs it. Nina is classy, gorgeous, and whip-smart. He knows she’s hiding secrets, and he wants to discover each and every one of them – uniform or not.
But then a Luxxor escort is found in a compromising situation with a prominent politician, and the true cat-n-mouse game begins.
Can Josh and Nina lower their guards to trust one another and give in to the attraction they both feel? Or will their suspicious minds keep them from seeing the true conspiracy going on behind the scenes?
The Courting Series
Meet the women and men who work at Luxxor Limited, a high-end escort service. The company caters to the wealthy by matching them with escorts who are as smart, mannered, and cultured as they are beautiful. The one limitation in Luxxor’s contracts? No sex allowed. Except, of course, if the contact is mutually acceptable.
Courting Jealousy (free novella)
Courting Suspicion (Book 4) – March 2016
Courting Gossip (Book 5) – June 2
Follow Kimberly
Website http://kimberlydean.com
Twitter @KDean_writer
Amazon amazon.com/author/kimberlydean
Bio
When taking the Myers-Briggs personality test in high school, Kimberly was rated as an INFJ (Introverted-Intuitive-Feeling-Judging). This result sent her into a panic, because there were no career paths recommended for the type. Fortunately, it turned out to be well-suited to a writing career. Since receiving that dismal outlook, Kimberly has become an award-winning author of romance and erotica. She has written for seven publishing houses, both domestic and international, and has recently focused her efforts on the exciting world of self-publishing. When not writing, she enjoys movies, sports, traveling, music, and sunshine. In her mind, a beach, some rock ‘n’ roll, and a good book make for a perfect day.
Courting Suspicion Excerpt
She’d worn the stilettos he’d tried to reject. They were white with gold heels to match the bangle on her wrist and the necklace around her throat. She was dressed in full battle armor.
Mr. Phipps helped her remove her full-length raincoat as her friends slipped away into the shadows again to wait for her.
“Follow my lead,” her lawyer instructed. “Let me answer first.”
Nina lifted an eyebrow as she removed the scarf from her hair. She wasn’t an imbecile who’d run off at the mouth. The man worked for her.
His head dipped.
“This way,” he said, gesturing to the front desk.
She shook out her hair and felt more than one interested glance turn her way. She used the energy, consuming it, even though the fire in her belly was still burning brightly. White-hot, to be accurate.
Once she gave her name, she was escorted down the hallway to a conference room. She refused to be hurried as her heels clipped off each step against the linoleum flooring. She settled into a hard wooden chair and looked at her sterile surroundings. She supposed they called them interrogation rooms here. She crossed her legs and flicked an imaginary speck off her dress.
The walls had windows with blinds that were open, and she hadn’t missed the two-way mirror on the wall. She doubted any crime-show fan didn’t know what that was. She was aware that her every move was being watched and, most likely, recorded. She had to play this right. She needed to appear concerned and offended, but powerful. That shouldn’t be too difficult. She was all three, but she didn’t want to play the power card yet.
Her gaze lifted when the door to the room swung open again.
She felt an immediate dislike for the fresh-faced, spiky-haired smartass who walked into the room. It was the new detective, no doubt about it. He was followed by a uniformed female officer, whom he waved into the corner. Nina’s tongue clicked at the dismissive move. The young buck didn’t have to open his mouth for her to peg him. She’d met his kind before, and she was unimpressed.
He dropped a manila folder onto the table, letting it smack loudly. She sighed. Was that supposed to be intimidating? He needed to study Morgan’s steely stare. That was intimidating.
And sexy as hell . . .
“I’m Detective Higgins, DC Metro Police.”
The man unbuttoned his brown jacket and took the seat across from her. Purposely, he let his shoulder holster show. Nina let an eyebrow lift when he didn’t extend his hand.
She held out hers. “Nina Lockwood.”
He seemed taken aback, but he shook her hand. “Nina.”
“You can call me Ms Lockwood.”
Authors from all over the world are celebrating the season by guesting on each other's blogs--an Egg-cerpt Exchange. I'm excited to have on LAM today artist and author Tracey Clark to tell us about her book, Shocking Finds (A Finder’s Keepers Novel)
systems, and whiskey. And I love all three. With my pugs and bossy kitty cat, I spend my days writing and working social media. I write with the help of the voices pushing me to create worlds for them to live in. Fantasy Romance, Contemporary Romance, and eventually some cowboys (because cowboys live in a group all their own, yummmm)… These are the genres that I love best. Oil paints, crafts, dealing with Multiple Sclerosis, and writing into the dead of night… this I my life!!!
Fallen Leaves Blurb
