The Culmination Read Online Free

used the computer in the office for a week?”
    She nods.
    “You left quite an interesting search history.”
    She bursts out laughing and buries her face in her hands. “Oh my God.”
    “That was quite the trail of breadcrumbs you left for me, baby. I assumed you did it on purpose.”
    “No.” She laughs again. “Well, maybe subconsciously, who knows?” She begins pulling out the bulky contents of the box. When everything is laid out on the bed, she looks it over, her eyes ablaze. “Holy Bondage, Batman,” she says quietly. “I never thought I’d see the day.” She beams at me. “Thank you.”
    “You’re welcome.” I take a deep breath. Shit. What have I done? I thought I was ready to take this leap, but suddenly I’m not so sure.
    “You do understand I want you to cuff me —not the other way around?”
    “That’s the only possible combination.”
    “And you’re totally fine with this?”
    We both know I’ve been hardwired since the age of seven to recoil from the mere thought of bondage—and The Lunacy in my teens certainly didn’t help matters. Can I really do this for her? And enjoy it? I think I can—if what happened in Thailand was any indication. Or were the circumstances of that bizarre night so fucking weird, so fucking confusing, it created a once-in-a-lifetime wormhole for me—impossible to duplicate? “I’m better than fine with it,” I manage to say, and, actually, as the words tumble out of my mouth, I’m pretty sure they’re the truth.
    “I can’t believe it. Wow.” She picks up one of the four Velcro cuffs. “How does this thing work?”
    I grab one of the soft cuffs and open and close it. “The sheet gets strapped onto the bed, really tight, and then the cuffs attach to the sheet, in any configuration you want.”
    “Wow,” she says, her face aglow, “that’s really cool—and a whole lot more efficient than a web of neckties tied to the bedposts, huh?” She laughs.
    I roll my eyes.
    “I can’t believe you got this for me, baby.”
    “Of course.”
    Now it’s Sarah who’s rolling her eyes. “Not ‘of course.’ This is a one hundred-eighty-degree turnaround from where we started, Jonas. You were pretty damned clear on your application that any kind of bondage was a total nonstarter for you.” She bites her lip. “Understandably.”
    I pause, considering. “Well, I didn’t know I was writing those words to the future mother of my twins.”
    “Hold up,” Sarah says abruptly, shaking her head like she’s got whiplash. “I’m the future mother of your twins ?” She looks down at her massive belly. “Oh, shit. When did that happen?”
    I chuckle.
    “But seriously, baby, this is a big shift. Are you sure?” Sarah says.
    I shrug. “With the right woman to tie up, a man can overcome just about any kind of bullshit-hang-up.”
    “There you go writing greeting cards again: ‘Darling, I think I’ve found the right woman to tie up. Please help me get over my bullshit-hang-ups. Happy Valentine’s Day.”
    I laugh.
    “Thank you so much, baby,” she gushes. “I’m so excited.”
    “Just a little motivation to get you through the next eight weeks—consider it a dangling carrot.”
    The look of sheer euphoria on her face makes me want to give her the second box, too. If I can’t get over all my childhood bullshit with the woman I love more than life itself—the woman who’s willing to bear my children, for Chrissakes, then when the fuck am I ever gonna get past it? And isn’t it my soul’s mandate to at least try to get past it? I look down at the inside of my left forearm. For a man to conquer himself is the first and noblest of all victories. Why did I get that inked onto my skin if I wasn’t gonna commit to it as my life’s mantra? I take a deep breath. Yeah, I’ve got to do this. It’s time. I can’t cower in that closet behind my mother’s dresses forever, for fuck’s sake. “But wait, there’s more ,” I say, leaping back up. I’m