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    His Secret: Secret Pleasures, #1
    His Secret: Secret Pleasures, #1
    His Secret: Secret Pleasures, #1
    Ebook57 pages49 minutes

    His Secret: Secret Pleasures, #1

    By Portia Da Costa

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    About this ebook

    He's her quiet storm...

    Ben Chambers is the perfect boyfriend, the perfect lover, the perfect gentleman. Sarah adores him, but she knows that despite the deliciousness of their lovemaking and the fun they have together, there’s a certain something missing between them. But then, on arriving for a hedonistic weekend of luxury at an English country house hotel, everything changes. A inconsequential pat on the bottom opens the window to a breathtaking world of daring and transgressive sensual pleasure… and forges a bond that’s both physical and a melding of their souls.

    His Secret is the first story in the sizzling Secret Pleasures series.

    [NB. A version of this novella was previously published as The Retreat]

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPortia Da Costa
    Release dateSep 17, 2014
    ISBN9781502242358
    His Secret: Secret Pleasures, #1
    Author

    Portia Da Costa

    Portia Da Costa is a British author who has lived and worked in West Yorkshire, in the north of England, all her life. She began her writing career almost by mistake, when she was asked to write a story for an artist friend to illustrate. A librarian at the time, and a voracious reader since childhood, Portia had never considered becoming an author, but not one to shun a challenge, she took up her pen and wrote her first-ever piece of fiction, a melodramatic tale of the doomed romance between a mortal woman and an unusually handsome and nondecrepit zombie. The story was rubbish, of course, but Portia enjoyed the creative process so much that she resolved to learn how to write properly. After a number of years writing purely for pleasure, Portia's first published story appeared in 1991, and was about a sexy ghost this time. Since then, she's gone on to write well over a hundred stories for magazines and anthologies, and she's also produced almost thirty novels across a variety of genres. Although she's written gentler tales in her time, she's known best of all for her sizzling-hot erotic romances, and her steamy contemporary Suite Seventeen, won the 2007 Romance B(u)y the Book Best Contemporary Erotic Romance Award. Chance of a Lifetime, a November 2008 SPICE Brief, was Portia's first-ever work for Harlequin Books and represents the fulfillment of a long-cherished dream. Her very first attempts at writing for publication were category-length semisweet romances targeted at Mills & Boon. None of these early efforts was successful, but Portia's deep yearning to write for the world's best-known romance publisher has never waned. Portia is a now full-time author and lives in a small, typically Yorkshire town with her husband of many, many years, and also the three beautiful cats they both adore. When she's not writing, she likes to read, just generally chill out and watch television. A lot of television. She also loves to spend time online with cyber friends at her favorite writers' message boards and on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Among her other interests are art, fashion and popular science, and she also shares her husband's passion for the military history of World War Two. Portia loves to hear from her readers via her email: portiadacosta@gmail.com

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      Book preview

      His Secret - Portia Da Costa

      Table of Contents

      Chapter One

      Chapter Two

      Chapter Three

      Chapter Four

      Thank You!

      About Portia

      Published by Portia Da Costa

      Black Lace Erotic Romance

      Harlequin Erotic Romance

      Their Secret - Teaser Excerpt

      Copyright Notice

      Chapter One

      Ooh!

      Are you all right, Sarah? he asked, his voice soft and powerful in her ear.

      Was she all right?

      She supposed she must be, but in the space of an instant she just couldn’t stop shaking.

      Sarah’s heart fluttered and raced as she advanced into the spacious room. It was almost as if she’d just entered some kind of arena and was standing before a huge crowd, an ordeal ahead of her. Which was stupid, really, because this was the most luxurious and beautiful bedroom she was ever likely to stay in. The Retreat was an exclusive country-house hotel, a heritage-listed building and five stars to boot, so staying here was about as far from a horrible ordeal as it was possible to get.

      But it wasn’t the original beams, the open fireplace, or even the huge bed with its brass head and foot rails and traditional English chintz bed linen that had caught her breath and made her pulse race… it was a simple, almost inconsequential thing that had just happened in passing that had made her gasp.

      As they’d entered the room, Ben had tapped her oh so lightly on the bottom to encourage her forward.

      It should have been nothing. It was nothing. Just a harmless, affectionate gesture from a man she really, really, really liked, and possibly more than liked. Something that by rights she should barely even have noticed.

      But the tiny gesture, ever so fleeting, had almost poleaxed her. She was still trembling and she’d broken out into a sweat.

      It was as if the world had just changed and she’d changed with it, irrevocably.

      How do you like it then? Ben’s hand settled on her waist as she stood looking around, not really seeing or appreciating the lovely room or the breathtaking view from the window, of the early evening sunset gilding the park outside. The porter was waiting just behind them, and she fought for composure, hoping he couldn’t tell she’d suddenly gone slightly mad or work out why her face was suddenly bright pink and blushing furiously.

      Get a grip, woman!

      It’s gorgeous… I really like it. I love the chintz and the furniture and the view… it’s all so… um… old English.

      I’m babbling , she thought, trying to focus on the traditional furnishings and the gentle scent of cottage-garden potpourri that filled the air.

      She turned, hardly daring to look at him. Had he felt the change too? It had been so huge it couldn’t just be restricted to her, surely?

      Ben was studying her, as he so often did. His warm brown eyes were mild, yet intent and full of secrets. If he’d sensed the turmoil inside her, he wasn’t giving any indication. But then, he was the sort of man who gave very little away at the best of times. He was so composed, so contained, always in control.

      I’m glad you like it. I hoped you would. The Retreat is a very special place. Favoring her with a slight smile, he turned away to deal with the porter and their luggage.

      Don’t you feel anything? she demanded silently, watching and admiring and wanting him, as she always did.

      Ben Chambers was perfect. Dark, beautiful, intelligent, successful. A boyfriend… no, more than that… a lover to die for. His thick brown hair was swept back from a broad, handsome brow, and his perfectly trimmed, somehow old-fashioned little goatee only emphasized the strong line of his jaw and his firm, passionate lips. And he had style too, distinct and quirky. She loved that he possessed the aura of an elegant yet bohemian Edwardian gentleman. He was always immaculately dressed and she very saw him in casuals.

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