Possible Triggers: Lots of BDSM, but it's all consensual
I previously read the first 3 books and really liked the characters...all into kinky stuff but very good friends. This is an excellent addition to the series and I'm looking forward to finding #5, Shared. Back to this one. It's about second chances... except it’s less of a second chance and more of an “oops, we screwed up". Seems that 15-years ago Ivey and Dalton got married in Vegas, and then "forgot about it.” This could only have happened on the pages of a book but what the heck, it made a good story. When Kate Hawthorne added a bit of the "fake relationship" trope, this all starts to sound more than complicated, but Kate is good at what she does best...write about hot, sexy guys...so she handles the variables and emotions with her usual incredible story writing skills. The kink dynamic between Dalton and Ivey, at its core, is probably one of the most typical D/s dynamics I’ve ever seen from any author. That's one of those reasons that this book reads like a kink romance that's running in reverse rather than full steam ahead. The tension between Dalton and Ivey is strong no matter if the scene takes place today or 15-years ago. We follow their journey of how they got to this point in their present day, with the two of them first connecting after the shared abuse by an ex. It begins with a trauma bond that initially develops between them and it what sends them to Las Vegas in the first place, without necessarily keeping the focus on why that trauma existed in the first place. Both men have grown up since that first college experience... but the connection between them that was always there, remains. If anything, it made Dalton’s attempt at posing as the dutiful husband in New York City even more dramatic. Unfortunately, the distance doesn’t relieve Dalton of any of the pressure of developing a relationship away from the influence and opinion of his friends. Not a single character exists in a vacuum, as Dalton faces the NYC chapter of the "Trophy Doms Social Club" who are particularly overprotective of submissive Ivey. A more significant hurdle to Dalton and Ivey’s "happy ever after" however, is the simple logistics of their lives 3,000 miles away on opposite sides of the country. When the stars eventually align, the author has once again done an excellent job of shaping the two characters of Dalton and Ivey, so that the final decisions on both their parts feels natural. Note: His parents didn't name the poor guy "Ivey". It's what ONLY Dalton has always called Carter Emerson Royce the IV...so, "I-V"...and NOONE but Dalton calls him that. ( )