Three

There's another woman in the mirror.

Her pretty brown hair may have been carefully styled earlier in the evening, but now it's tousled, wild, damp with sweat. Shadow, liner and mascara have smudged together, ringing her eyes in smoky black, making them huge.

She needs no lipstick; her mouth is swollen, red from deep and feral kisses.

We tilt our heads in unison.

At first, in the ambient light, her graceful neck appears to bear a darker line of shadow. But as she moves, the stain resolves into a chain of love-bites, purplish red against her pale skin. I see her mouth curve at the sight, pleased by the memory.

A soft robe, plum-colored silk, graces her shoulders; as she allows it to fall away, sliding liquid smooth over her skin, more marks are revealed. The dark circles stand out like brands, drawing the eye, raising heated thoughts of the act that created them. They follow the curve of her collarbone, her shoulders. Another on the upper slope of her breast, near her heart. She runs her fingertips over this one, gently tracing its outline; probing the tender patch with a widening, sensual smile, a smile with secrets behind it.

Rising gracefully to her feet, the stranger lets her robe fall to the floor; all her voluptuous beauty exposed to me by the dim, golden light. Sumptuous breasts, ripe and full, sized to spill out into a man's hands. Nipples as red, as swollen as her mouth, and for the same reason - kissing, nipping, suckling, torment leaving the flesh hypersensitive. Lower, the gentle curve of belly and hip, of upper thigh. The soft nest of fur between her legs still glistens with moisture seeping out from her secret inner folds. And all that tender flesh, breasts and stomach, criss-crossed with thin pink lines; welts left by a slender object brought down against her skin with force.

Her long, graceful hands trail down her torso, stroking over these conspicuous marks, evidence of dark passions satisfied; slowly she touches each one, wincing a little at the darkest. At the end of this exploration, the stranger - wanton, displaying herself for me this way - presses two fingers between her labia. The dark-rimmed eyes sink closed with pleasure while she gently caresses herself, then brings those fingers, glistening with her own wetness, up to her mouth. Licking, then suckling them clean. Opening her eyes to stare into mine as she tastes herself. With her hand raised I can see the redness braceleting her wrist; the place where rope or fabric chafed a little, leaving her marked there, as well.

She turns, shadow and soft light playing over her body like a lover's hand...like her own touch had. Carefully she gathers up her long hair at the nape of her neck, holding it with one hand, exposing the soft-sculpted length of her back, the tender, lovely swell of her ass.

And a new gallery of marks - darker, thicker, blooming bruises like irises across her hips and ass, red lines swelling across her shoulderblades. Twisting slightly to look over her shoulder, she takes in this colorful display with obvious pleasure.

Low on one buttock is a red, raised handprint.

For another moment, a few breath's worth of time, she is still; looking at herself, looking at me, displaying the proof of her debauchery and unashamedly revelling in it. Smiling over her shoulder at me. A thoroughly sexual creature, my stranger, glowing in the golden half-light.

A bruised and bright-eyed Venus.

Eventually, though, she allows her silken mane to cascade down, hiding her secret again. Her gaze leaves mine - I am no longer of note, the connection is gone. As she turns, so do I. There is an even more delightful experience awaiting me.

I glimpsed it from the corner of my eye as we moved; her shifting away from the mirror revealed the form. A figure, gloriously male, lying sprawled across the bed behind her. Nude, painted antique gold by the soft light, and beautiful; his chest rising and falling in a slow sleep rythm, his cock a promising shadow between half-spread thighs.

He looks even better first-hand.

Smiling in anticipation, I step over my fallen robe and go to wake my lover.