This didn't work for me. I'll admit that BDSM is not one of my favorite genres, but the BDSM aspects don't affect the 2 star rating.
The story is told from Austin's pov. He's a hotshot, fresh out of grad school fire investigator and he's also Flame's cousin. Austin decides he wants to work in Florida where Tom is to be near family. Austin is heavily into the bdsm lifestyle. He's an experienced masochist up to and including blood play, breath play, and CBT.
Lucas Wolf is the veteran fire investigator in the Tampa department. He's surly, standoffish, and he does not want a partner. He especially doesn't want the brown-nosing pretty boy with no field experience as a partner, and the fact that he is immediately attracted to Austin just serves to cement his no partner stance.
Austin and Lucas may not have hit it off when they met, but it's a different story when Austin visits a BDSM dungeon and finds out that Lucas is an extremely experienced dom with a heavy taste for sadism. Austin is wearing a mask when he first notices Lucas and he continues to wear a mask when he and Lukas start meeting each other for play sessions.
This is where my problems began. After meeting several times and engaging in S/M scenes both publicly and privately, and after having beginning a sexual relationship as the meetings progress, I find it extremely hard to believe that Lucas doesn't recognize Austin mask or no mask.
I didn't care for Austin as a character. He's selfish, immature, and the whole smug attitude about his "secret" identity turned me off. Eventually Lucas finds out that his playmate is actually his partner and the relationship begins. This felt false to me. You meet a few times to beat the crap out of someone, or to get the crap beat out of you and suddenly you're in love? I couldn't see it.
My last minor niggle is the role Flame played in this book. He turns into an unrecognizable character that calls Austin "Austie" and he mothers Austin like an overprotective mother Hen. That was disappointing.
Overall I don't feel like this was a strong addition to the series.