The A-List (EBOOK)

Gabby

My fingers hovered over the unmute icon on my phone, anxiety churning my stomach. 

Am I really doing this?

With a deep breath, I hit the button, interrupting the chatter between my sisters-in-law. 

"I think Rune wants to explore kink."

My blurted statement halted the conversation in our monthly video chat. 

"He keeps giving me romance books that include BDSM. And they're super-hot. Like really explicit but also really romantic."  

Four faces stared out at me from the phone screen, their expressions identical looks of stunned surprise. 

"And," I continued, determined to admit everything. "While I am totally open to it, I'm a little timid about how to do it safely. Do any of you know more about things like rope play and spanking and all that stuff?" 

My four sisters-in-law blinked at me as if I had lobbed a bomb into the chat room. 

Well, I kind of did. A sex bomb. 

Falling in love with a guy from a large family had its downsides. Like the time his eldest brother, Gunnar walked in on us mid-coitus. Or the time his sister, Liv, gave me the Karma Sutra for Christmas—which was promptly stolen by Rune's nan.

But it also had its upsides. Like the fact his sisters and sisters-in-law had welcomed me joyously into the family. They'd set up monthly face-to-face chats and a group text just for us ladies. The chat contained everything from sex tips to reading recommendations to baby burping techniques and complaints about overly aggressive shop assistants. These women had become my safe space, a place where I could be uniquely feminine and totally honest without any censure or judgment. 

Liv, in predictable fashion, flicked a lock of her long blonde hair out of her eyes and leaned forward, answering first. 

"I'm not sure whether to be proud of my little brother, thrilled for you or freaked out. Either way, I have suggestions." 

"Why am I not surprised?" Ella laughed, rolling her eyes. "Gabby, what books? Are there any you'd recommend? Let me get a pen."  

"I can recommend a rope guy," Laura offered, reaching for her notebook. "I have his number somewhere here." 

"Alright, hold up," Astrid said, wrinkling her nose. "First, ew. This is my brother we're speaking about. Second, Liv, how do you have suggestions? You shouldn't have suggestions when this shit involves your baby brother. Third, Laura, you have a rope guy?"

I chuckled, leaning back in my seat, some of the tension easing from my shoulders. 

The Larsson siblings were a funny bunch. Gunnar, Ella's husband, was the eldest of the five siblings and lived down in Capricorn Cove. They'd met one dark and stormy night in her bar and been in love ever since. 

Laura and Erik lived in Cape Hardgrave like the rest of us, tending to their brood of adopted twins and their three-month-old daughter, who seemed incapable of sleep. They'd met on the set of Laura's show, The Queen of Clean, after Erik had found himself in a pickle trying to raise his adopted twin boys by himself. The Queen of Clean had fallen for the Master of Mess, and the rest—as they say—was history. 

Liv followed in age but not in maturity. The woman scared and delighted me in equal measure—and was an absolute powerhouse in the film world. Her production company was fast becoming internationally recognized for high-quality, unique, and female-centric movies. Liv had married Ian—a stereotypical red-headed beast of a man who was actually a goddamned Scottish Laird. She liked to trot out her official title semi-regularly. They'd been thrown together following a surprise pregnancy, some misunderstandings, and many sexy times. Liv referred to it as her 'awakening.' 

Astrid was the second youngest sibling and the novelist and screenwriter in the family. Her husband, Robbie, was an actual movie star, and—thanks to Liv's production company funding the movie adaptations of Astrid's bestselling novels—they both owned Oscars.  

Which left Rune, my husband. Despite being the youngest brother, my man was the biggest and broadest member of the family, towering over his siblings in all his blond-haired, blue-eyed glory. In my opinion, he was also the most attractive of the family, but I might be biased. 

We'd been married for a little over two years now, and I loved that he was funny, loyal, loving, and full of sexy, repressed energy. The guy had been a virgin before meeting me, but goodness did he make up for lost time.  

Eager to please. Delightfully so. 

Which brought me to now—and my questionable request for assistance. 

I hope I don't regret this. 

"What gives you the idea Rune wants to explore kink?" Ella asked, leaning into the screen. "I mean, I'm totally here for it. God knows Gunnar loves a little play in the bedroom. This one time we—" 

"Ew, ew, ewwww!" Astrid interrupted, shaking her head vigorously, hands clapped over her ears. "There are things I do not need to know about my brothers, including but not limited to what they like in the bedroom. Also, Laura, seriously? A rope guy? Is a rope guy something a household requires? Should I ask Robbie if we have a rope guy?" She leaned away from the screen, calling over her shoulder. "Robbie! Do we have a rope guy?"

"No," he called back. "Do we need one?"

She turned back to the screen. "We don't have a rope guy." 

Laura shook her head. "Of course, I have a rope guy. I'm married to a man who builds boats for a living. Boats require rope."

"Ooh. Is boat rope different from bedroom rope? Or binding kidnapped victims' rope?" Astrid asked, her gaze taking on a familiar dreamy look. 

"Now you've set her off," Liv sighed. "She's gonna go plot a whole book and be useless for the rest of this conversation."

"But it's a good question, let me look." Ella began to type on her keyboard, her gaze turning squinty at the screen as she searched for an answer.  

My sisters-in-law are all a bunch of nuts. 

"Okay, back to me," Liv said, pointing at her chest. "My first suggestion is to get him to talk to Ian. We had a little play weekend a few months ago. The man is talented with his tongue."  

"Again, these are conversations I do not want to be having about my siblings' sexual prowess." 

"Oh, shut up, Astie," Liv said, rolling her eyes. "You and I have had multiple conversations about Robbie's abilities in the bedroom." 

"This is true." Laura nodded. "And we got the monthly updates on sexy time scheduling when you were trying to get pregnant."

"Fine, I'll just pretend we're talking about someone else. How about Hot Jay the Carpenter?"

We all sucked in a breath at the memory. 

Ella and Gunnar had needed to build an extension on their house with the impending birth of their daughter. Pressed for time, Gunnar had admitted defeat and called in a contractor. Hot Jay had arrived, and for three months we'd been treated to delicious updates.  

"I miss Hot Jay," Laura sighed. "Hot Jay really knew how to hammer some wood."

"I still stalk his Instagram," Liv admitted. "Ian says he doesn't know what I do online, but I think he knows about Hot Jay. It's not cheating if you take the sexual frustration out on your husband, right?" 

"Okay," Ella returned to the conversation. "Google tells me that sex rope is different from boat rope. Gabby, I think you're gonna need to do more research. This seems a little complicated." 

I opened my mouth to answer, but Liv interrupted. 

"Don't worry, I've got this. Gabs, you and Rune are headed to Capricorn Cove next weekend, right?"

I nodded slowly, suspicious of her tone. "Yes… should I be worried?"

"Not at all. I just know that there's a kink club in town. A quick search showed that they do beginner bondage classes focusing on accessibility. I've just purchased you a ticket."

"Sorry, you did what?"  

"Oh! The A-List, of course." Ella laughed, shaking her head. "I totally forgot about that place. Yes! You have to go! That place sounds so hot. A girlfriend of mine went and said she had the best experience. Actually, maybe Gunnar and I should come as well. That could be fun. We could turn it into a double date!"

My stomach began to churn, my palms growing sweaty.  

"For the love of God, fuck no," Astrid groaned, her head dropping into her hands. "No one wants to see their brother in a sex club." 

"Hmm, good point." Ella sighed. "Fine, we'll go the weekend after." A child began to cry in the background, her face twisting. "Damn. Be right back. I need to check on—" Her computer screen froze, capturing her tiny baby bump as she stood. 

"Alright, I just looked up their health standards, they're certified and approved." Laura held up her phone to the camera. "The Board of Health even gave them a certificate of recognition two years ago."

Astrid laughed. "Only you would worry about health standards at a kink club."  

"I'm not supporting sending my favorite sister-in-law into a dank and dirty sex dungeon." 

"Favorite?" Astrid blinked. "Did you say favorite?"  

"Excuse me? Since when is Gabby your favorite?" Liv added, her glare frosty even through her computer screen.  

Ella's computer screen unfroze, a toddler now sitting on her lap. "Why is Gabby the favorite? What did I miss?"

"She came and babysat for Erik's birthday. It's been the most sleep we've had since Aada arrived." 

Ella bounced her daughter on her knee, my niece laughing in delight. "I sincerely hope you also got some sexy times."  

"Of course. But we also slept for a full glorious ten hours without any children attempting to get into bed with us. I cannot tell you the last time that happened. We got our sleep on, then our freak on." 

"Alright, you're forgiven," Astrid said with a grin. "Having just spent two days looking after a vomiting child, Gabby would also be my favorite. Hint-hint," she added with a wink.  

"Laura, I'm still in awe that you're contemplating having a fourth kid. Honestly, that weekend with the twins and Aada was more than enough to make me question my sanity," I said, shaking my head. 

Seriously, the amount of body fluids alone was enough to make me question if the kid was possessed by a demon.  

"Gabby, check your email."  

I sighed, following Liv's direction, shaking my head when I saw the ticket to the accessible rope class. 

"God," I groaned, pressing a hand to my face. "How am I going to explain this to Rune?"

"Explain what?"

I startled, my head jerking up to see Rune standing in the doorway to our bedroom. 

"Shit, is that Rune?" 

"I think it is."  

"Do you think he'll like your gift?"

"Maybe you could—"

With fumbling fingers, I hit end on the call and slammed the lid of my laptop shut, silence descending in our bedroom. 

"Gabby," Rune crossed his arms, giving me a worried frown. "Tell me what?"

Shit.