Mark sat motionless at his desk, as though frozen. He stared at the pencil and pad of paper on his desk, as though challenging it to move again. He nudged the pencil with a finger a couple of times, as though trying to coax it to life and repeat its earlier performance. Twice he shifted his gaze away from the pencil and paper to glance around him at the empty room.

"Spirit?" he called out weakly. "Spirit, are you still there? Please answer me!"

But there was only silence.

Finally, when Mark was satisfied that the psychic event he’d just witnessed was really, truly over, he took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. He pulled up his pants, re-buckled his belt and reached for the pad of paper with a trembling hand. He picked it up gingerly and examined the ghostly writing very, very closely. He shook his head. Man, it’s incredible… Automatic writing… I never thought I’d ever actually see such a thing! And actual, physical contact, too! A thrill shot through him as he recalled the sensations involved of being touched by what felt like soft, invisible hands. Incredible! He thought again. I’ve read about such things, but I never…

Shaking his head, trying to shake off the lingering effects of the brandy he’d taken earlier, Mark struggled to think clearly again. Okay…okay… Have to document it…he reminded himself. Must get it all down, in detail, while the impressions are still fresh in my mind… He tore off the first sheet of paper from the pad, which contained the ‘ghostly’ writing, and looked it over again in wonder. Wild…that’s just…wild! he thought. He then proceeded to jot down some notes in the remaining pages of the tablet, documenting his strange experience.

Unbeknownst to Mark, Tina was standing right behind him the whole time, looking over his shoulder as he scribbled down his notes.

He thinks it’s over, huh? she thought. That’s what he thinks! It’s only just beginning! She smiled as she watched Mark. That’s it, better write it all down. ‘Cause you ain’t seen nothing yet! Tina’s face suddenly felt very hot. She knew what the sensation indicated; if she were not invisible she would now be blushing a bright red at the thoughts now racing through her mind.

Silently, she tiptoed into the bedroom, and slowly, carefully, quietly pulled out a dresser drawer…

As Mark jotted down his concluding notes, he glanced at his watch, and made a final notation on the page.

"Conclusion of final event: six o’clock." He tossed the pencil aside and let out a deep sigh, settling back in his chair, shaking his head in amazement. I still can’t believe it, he thought.

Finally, he swiveled his chair around, away from the desk and was just about to rise when he heard a tiny rustling noise coming from the hallway leading to the bedroom.

Uh-oh, what’s this? he thought. Is this something new? It’s not over yet?

He took a couple of steps toward the bedroom hallway, then stopped. He began to break out into a cold sweat. Although he didn’t want to admit it to himself, Mark was frightened.

Now this is just stupid! he told himself. After all, what was there to be afraid of? Nothing! He’d read all the books, he knew all about hauntings and poltergeists and such. This was nothing new to him, not really! He could handle this! He just needed to stay calm, that’s all. Stay calm and observe objectively, scientifically.

But the truth was, Mark was afraid, just the same. Of exactly what, he couldn’t be quite sure. He didn’t really think he would be harmed physically by this ghost or spirit or whatever it was…but on the other hand, neither did he really know what to expect either, what might happen next. It was this that frightened him more than anything else: the vague, undefined, generalized fear that something was going to happen, but he didn’t have a clue what.

And there was also the very creepy feeling…that he wasn’t alone. The apartment was empty, he knew that for certain. If there were any signs of a break-in or burglary, he’d have seen them right away when he first came home, but he didn’t. And yet…he had the unsettling feeling that someone was watching him; silently watching his every move. This feeling alone sent chills down his spine.

He felt…violated, somehow, as though his personal, private space had been breached. He was glad of one thing, however: he was glad that Tina wasn’t around to see all this weird stuff going on. If she were, she’d probably freak out and get all hysterical. She was never all that crazy about this ghost stuff to begin with, Mark knew. If she were around when all this stuff started, she’d probably be packed up & gone in five minutes and that would be the last he’d ever see of her. Thank God she was out of the house for the afternoon… Maybe this weird, freaky stuff would be over by the time she came home…

He swallowed and clenched his jaw, resolving to forge ahead, and not let anything shock or surprise him any more. His mind made up, he took another step toward the bedroom, then once again froze in his tracks. His eyes opened wide, his jaw dropped open and he instinctively took a step backward.

There before him stood an apparition, a diaphanous form, all in white, like a fine mist or a puff of white smoke. It floated out from the hallway towards him. It appeared to be of a filmy, gauzy composition and it did have a distinct shape to it, roughly like that of a woman. It looked like a woman’s negligee…but without the woman! Mark blinked twice as if to clear his eyes and looked again. It was a negligee, every curvaceous contour lusciously filled-out…but it was completely empty, with no one inside it! Mark could see right through its thin, gauzy texture to the other side of the room behind it. As it moved toward him, it seemed to float or glide eerily and yet seductively across the floor, quite unlike anything Mark had ever seen before, and it uttered a soft, whispery moan, in a timbre which sounded distinctly feminine.

The apparition slowly, gently waved its sleeves as it approached Mark, as though beckoning him. As it came closer, Mark could see what appeared to be long white silk or satin gloves underneath the long full gauzy sleeves of the negligee. The fingers of the gloves waved seductively, invitingly to him.

Mark felt the blood drain from his face, and he began to tremble madly all over, and he watched with glazed eyes as the apparition approached him. It now stood right in front of him and he could see it close-up. God, it…it looks so real! It looks like real fabric, and yet…I can see right down inside it! Sure enough, beneath the gauzy outer layer of fabric, Mark could clearly see what looked like a white silk merry-widow corset inside, heavily-boned and wrapped sensuously around a voluptuous female form. Except there was none there to be seen. Beneath the corset were a pair of white silk stockings, fastened with garters to the corset. On the feet of the stockings were a pair of white, high-heeled shoes.

Man o man, I don’t believe this…! he thought as the ghostly figure reached out a silken glove to stroke his cheek. He swallowed loudly as it made contact. The figure reached out another glove to his other cheek, and the two gloves softly, gently caressed his face. All the while, Mark continued to stare, fixated, at the empty interior of the corset.

It was too much…it was all too much. This can’t be happening…This can’t be happening…! Mark repeatedly told himself, shaking his head in disbelief. He began to feel light-headed. Fighting off waves of dizziness, Mark managed to find the will to open his mouth and speak. His voice croaked out weakly:

"What—What do you want of me?"

The ghostly gloves briefly ceased their caresses, and the apparition floated over to Mark’s desk. It picked up the sheet of paper Mark had torn from the pad, then floated back over to Mark. One glove held the paper before Mark’s face while the other pointed to the two previous ‘ghostly’ messages:

I-N-E-E-D-Y-O-U

And:

I-W-A-N-T-Y-O-U

Mark shook his head. "I—I don’t understand, I don’t know what you want of me!" he lied.

The apparition pointed to the messages again, but Mark still shook his head. The apparition then picked up a pencil from the desk scratched out two new messages, then once again held up the paper in front of Mark’s face, pointing to the new messages. Mark shuddered as he read them:

I-N-E-E-D-L-I-F-E-E-N-E-R-G-Y

And:

I-N-E-E-D-Y-O-U-R-L-O-V-E

Mark’s mouth dropped open and he took a step backward. He shook his head again, the dizziness now threatening to overpower him. "I-I-I can’t!" he said. "What you’re asking is impossible!" The apparition reached down and gently touched Mark’s hand with one glove. He flinched at the touch and pulled his hand away. The apparition patiently reached again and gently but firmly took hold of Mark’s hand, and gave it a light tug, as though trying to pull him towards the bedroom. But Mark remained rooted to his position, afraid to move.

"I can’t, I just can’t!" Mark said. "I’m—I’m sorry, but--it—it’s impossible!"

The apparition released its grip on Mark’s hand, and moved closer to him. The upper part of the corset now rubbed against Mark’s chest. It was incredible, but it felt solid! It felt as though there were really a woman inside of it! But there was no woman there! And it was just then that Mark first became aware of a strong fragrance. It was not unpleasant, yet it was one that Mark couldn’t quite identify. And…it was crazy…but the aroma seemed to have a tranquilizing effect on him somehow, soothing and comforting him, enveloping him like a soft, warm blanket. The fear and apprehension he had earlier felt slowly began to melt away as he inhaled the strange, otherworldly aroma.

The apparition reached its long-gloved ‘arms’ up to Mark’s shoulders and around his back, holding him close to it, gently rubbing his back with silken fingers. By now, Mark’s fear and resistance were almost entirely overcome, and in spite of himself, he began to respond to the apparition as though it were a flesh-and-blood woman.

Mark reached his arms out to the apparition, and held it close to him. It was incredible…but it felt as though there was warm flesh beneath the thin, filmy fabric, even though there clearly wasn’t. His hands explored further, and he marveled at the soft, warm contours beneath the gauzy silk, gently squeezing here and there, to which the apparition did not seem to object; on the contrary, it appeared to respond very favorably. Instinctively, Mark reached his mouth forward, as though to kiss, but each time he did, his mouth was playfully deflected by gloved fingers, gently steering him away from unseen lips that Mark felt must be there.

By now, the fear and apprehension that had formerly immobilized Mark were completely gone; he was lost in the reverie of the moment, savoring the exciting pleasures of this strange and wonderful encounter with this extraordinary creature.

The apparition abruptly ceased in its caresses, and Mark jumped as he felt a sensation similar to the one he’d earlier felt of someone blowing in his ear. Only now, the sensation carried a sound, a soft, tiny sound, no louder than that of a butterfly’s wings. The sound was that of a drawn-out whispered word. The word was:

"Pleeeeeeeeeaaasssse?"

That one word seemed to convey a feeling of such profound longing and loneliness that Mark found he could no longer refuse the apparition anything. Thus when it again took his hand in its glove and gently tugged him in the direction of the bedroom, he had neither the power nor the inclination to resist it.

Tina was enjoying herself immensely, and to her delight, she was getting turned on by the unique power with which she now controlled the situation. Man, he doesn’t even have a clue! she thought. He doesn’t have any idea that it’s me! And it’s so easy, now! He’s so easy, like pushing a big door open. Just give him a little push…and that’s all it takes! It must be the perfume that’s doing it…sure…"power to cloud men’s minds," that’s what Mia said. This must be like a dream to him or something… The state he’s in now and the state I’m in now, I can do anything to him now, anything at all… Ooooh, I wish I could have done this weeks ago!

The realization of how much power she now had in her unseen state began to flame Tina’s passions to an intensity she’d never known before. Even when she had first started going with Mark, and everything was still so new between them, even that paled in comparison to the fierce desire she now felt. Yet at the same time, there was never any doubt in her mind as to who was now in complete control of the situation. The realization that she was now in a position to take charge and take the initiative enflamed her passions even more.

Mark followed behind the apparition as it glided along the thick carpet, guiding him to the bed. It sat him down on the edge of the bed, pushing him playfully back against some pillows. By now, Mark could do no more than silently obey this spectral seductress. He watched as silk-gloved fingers slowly unbuttoned his shirt and carefully peeled it from his torso. He watched as they unbuckled his pants, repeating a similar event of earlier in the evening, and gently tugged them down his hips and down his legs. The ghostly gloves similarly relieved Mark of his shoes, socks and finally, his underwear.

The apparition pulled back the covers and sheets of the bed, and Mark slid underneath them. The ghostly apparition walked away from him, and for a moment, he almost panicked. He was afraid the apparition would abruptly leave him, as it had done earlier. He relaxed when it turned back to face him again.

The apparition reached up and with short, tiny movements, slowly tugged away at the upper part of the silky garment, gently pulling at it, until it slipped down and away from the unseen shoulders beneath it. Whatever there was beneath it, holding it in its distinctly feminine shape wasn’t there anymore. The silky garment dropped limply down to the floor, after which one glove reached down, picked it up, and laid it carefully across the bed.

The apparition now consisted of the floating gloves, the white silk corset and the white stockings and shoes. The sundry articles of clothing floated gracefully about the room, each article completely detached from the others. Yet they continued to move, gracefully, seductively, as though they were worn by the most alluring, stunning, sexy woman Mark could ever imagine. The empty stockings in particular caught Mark’s attention, as they were now no longer obscured by the gauzy outer garment. They were extremely shapely, graced with the finesse and fullness of contour that Mark had always found so appealing. His eyes never left them for a moment. They were If only…if only there were flesh-and-blood legs in them…! He thought, excitedly.

As the empty clothes slinked and sauntered about the bed, the floating gloves reached down to the tops of the stockings and with slow, deliberate movements, unfastened each one from the garter which held it in place. They then reached to the front of the corset and began to unfasten it with faint snapping sounds. Mark watched in amazement as the gloved fingers carefully unfastened each hook, one at a time. When the last hook had been unfastened, the corset crumpled up briefly in mid-air, immediately losing its distinctive feminine shape, collapsing to a limp, lifeless mass of silk and lace, with nothing underneath but thin air. One glove casually tossed the now-limp corset to the bed to join the gauzy outer garment.

By now the only visual evidence that remained of Mark’s ghostly visitor were the disembodied gloves, stockings and shoes, which continued to parade sensuously around the bedroom. The stockinged legs casually kicked off the shoes, one at a time, then they glided over to the dresser, where one gloved hand pulled out a chair. One stockinged leg lifted itself up to the seat of the chair, and the gloves then proceeded to slowly….slowly…slowly curl down the top of the stocking, down and away from…nothing. It seemed as though there should be a shapely leg underneath the stocking; yet as it curled away, there was absolutely nothing to be seen at all underneath.

The last bit of stocking curled down to the toe then, tossed itself to one side, leaving no visual clue remaining of the ‘leg’ that had formerly worn it. The other stockinged leg then floated up to the chair-seat and repeated the performance of the first. Mark watched all this in silence up to this point, but now began to softly moan as he watched the scene unfolding before him. The ghostly apparition responded with even slower, more deliberate movements as it curled away the remaining stocking, as though deliberately prolonging the task in order to tease him. With each tiny movement, Mark felt a surge of energy surge through his body, as of ever-increasing waves crashing against a rocky seashore. Tension continued to build within him, silently begging for more, while simultaneously pleading for release.

The last bit of stocking curled down and away from the empty space beneath it. Now the gloves alone hovered in space. Gracefully they floated over to the bed where Mark lay, outreached invitingly to him, as though to hold him in an embrace. They floated gently over the mattress, and deep impressions suddenly appeared in the mattress, which squeaked and shifted as though a weight had been pressed down upon it. Mark blinked twice. God…! he thought. It’s almost as though someone were really there…!

But just as quickly his musings were distracted by the gloved hands and arms, which continued to stroke and caress Mark’s naked flesh, exploring every sensitive, tender portion of his body with their gentle, silken touch. He tingled with excitement as his body ached longingly to touch flesh to flesh with something that wasn’t there but which he sensed was there, what must be there. Only twice he tried to sit up to respond directly to the specter’s advances, only to be gently but firmly pushed back to a prone position by the ghostly gloved hands.

The disembodied gloves continued with their caresses all over Mark’s body. Afraid even to blink, he shuddered with each stroke. Each tender caress was accompanied by the softest, sweetest sensation, as of someone gently blowing upon and kissing every inch of his bare skin. He closed his eyes, savoring the sensation.

Now Mark responded, and this time, the gloves did not resist. He closed his eyes, and reached out his arms and was pleasantly surprised by the touch of what felt like a well-endowed naked woman’s body. He tightened his arms, holding ‘her’ tighter, pressing the soft, warm ‘flesh’ closer to his own. This can’t be happening…this just can’t be real…She—or it—or whatever—can’t be real! Sure enough, when Mark’s eyes flickered open for just a second, his heart almost skipped a beat as he saw there was nothing there; he seemed to be completely alone in the bed, except for the floating gloves and the deep impressions in the mattress.

And yet…in spite of the strangeness of it all, it nevertheless seemed somehow right to Mark; it just felt right. As bizarre as it all was, he had a warm, safe, comfortable sort of feeling with this…presence. It seemed almost familiar, reminding Mark vaguely of…something…something he’d known a long time ago but which he’d somehow lost along the way.

Mark found it increasingly difficult to think clearly, for some reason. True, he’d had a couple of shots of brandy when this…entity first made its presence known to him. But that couldn’t account for the confused, befogged reverie which now enveloped his mind. It was almost as though he no longer had conscious will of his own. And it was as though this strange, semi-familiar creature had come to him from the depths of his own mind, as though from some distant, half-forgotten memory… But that memory was elusive to Mark in his current state; each time his mind sought to grasp that half-forgotten something, it slipped away again…just as this ghostly apparition slipped away from his grasp earlier when he tried to approach it.

He’s almost ready now, Tina thought. Just one more thing to make him beg…

Suddenly, the unseen presence abruptly pulled away from Mark, the empty long silken gloves withdrawing from his body. Mark’s eyes snapped open in stunned surprise as he saw one gloved hand casually slip the other glove down and away from…nothing. Mark almost expected to see a shapely woman’s arm underneath the glove as it was stripped down; but there was nothing. Just as quickly, the other glove was stripped down and away from a shapely something that wasn’t there. Mark sat motionless, afraid to breathe, afraid to frighten away this presence, now, right at the most crucial moment of all.

Suddenly, the deep impressions in the mattress disappeared. Oh, no…! Mark thought. He sat upright in bed, reaching his hands out in the general vicinity of where the impressions had been, groping for his unseen visitor. But there was nothing there. He got up off the bed and continued to grope at the air for his unseen lover, the former firmness in his body that he had enjoyed only moments before now rapidly dwindling.

"Spirit…! Spirit, please! Don’t go! Please!" Mark said as he groped at the air. "Please don’t leave me! Don’t leave me now!"

Tina stood in one corner of the room and smiled as Mark circled the room with his hands outstretched. With great difficulty, she stifled her laughter. I shouldn’t laugh…but he looks so damned funny! Mark did in fact look pretty funny, wandering around the bedroom in circles, stark naked, with his hands in front of him as though playing a game of blind-mans bluff. Yet he also looked extremely vulnerable as well, and Tina discovered that she liked this; in fact, it turned her on. A curious thought entered her mind then, one final way in which she could use her advantage to toy with Mark’s vulnerability. She flexed her fingers and a smile spread across her unseen features.

Tina continued to stand and watch Mark for a few more minutes, listening to his pitiful pleas for the ‘spirit’ to return to him, savoring the experience of finally seeing Mark in a position of wanting, needing and begging for affection, for attention that didn’t seem to be there. Finally, when Tina decided that Mark had been punished almost enough, only then did she finally make her move…

"Spirit please!" Mark called. "Please come back!"

Just then he felt something run down his back, starting at the back of his neck and running lightly down his spine almost to the gluteal division. His spine stiffened at the touch, and he let out a light yelp, spinning around to see what it was. There was, of course, nothing there. Another light something ran down his back in a lateral motion, across his lower side and ending near his groin region. Again he let out a brief squawk and spun at the touch. Another touch followed…then another. It felt as though invisible fingers were tickling and groping him from all directions.

The unseen fingers proceeded to tickle Mark unmercifully. He laughed uncontrollably and tried to ward off them off, but he was helpless to defend against them. They seemed to be everywhere. Laughing so hard that he almost fell on the floor, and with tears rolled down his face, Mark soon found himself begging the invisible fingers to cease in their tickling torments.

"Spirit!" he cried, between laughter. "Spirit, please! I know that’s you! Please stop; I can’t stand it!"

The fingers continued.

"Okay!" Mark half-laughed, half-cried. "Okay, you win! I give up! I surrender!!"

In response, the fingers abruptly stopped, and then something pinched Mark’s bare rear end. He squawked and wheeled around as though to face it. Another quick pinch followed, this time on his side, and he squawked again. Other quick pinches and squeezes from the unseen fingers soon followed, and Mark continually whirled and wheeled around to try to fend them off, but it was useless: he never knew from which direction they were coming next.

However, as they continued, something very strange began to happen. The pinches and squeezes became more gentle and prolonged, as though the unseen hands were savoring the sensation of physical contact. And Mark, to his surprise, discovered that he liked the sensation of being groped by unseen fingers. His reactions became less panicked and he soon began to welcome their touch. He began to reach his own hands out, as though to coax or goad the hands to grab him again; they always complied.

When Mark reached his hands out, he was very surprised when he felt a very definite something there. It was soft and smooth and warm. Whatever it was, there in the empty space, it felt like warm, living flesh. It quickly squirmed away from his grasp, and Mark thought he heard a tiny squeak of delight. He reached again and this time his hands made more lingering contact. It felt like a woman’s torso (a quite voluptuous one at that, Mark soon discovered), although there was clearly nothing but air between his hands. His fingers explored further and soon discovered what felt like a pair of full, round breasts, beneath which smooth sides tapered down to a small, fine waist before swelling out to full round hips and buttocks. He excitedly held this unseen something closer to him, and his lips and tongue began to explore further, and soon encountered what felt like an unseen mouth. He felt the faint sensation of soft, fine hair brushing against his face as he leaned forward, running his tongue along what felt like a long, slender neck. Mark kept his eyes closed the entire time; thus he could almost imagine that this was a flesh-and-blood woman he now held in his arms, rather than a strange, otherworldly phantasm.

For a brief, flickering moment, a quick impression occurred to Mark, and then just as quickly vanished. It almost feels like…like Tina, he thought briefly. The thought was quickly lost in the reverie of the moment however, and he gave it no further thought.

A ghostly hand crept down Mark’s back, around his side and down below his stomach. He gave a quick gasp as the hand gently grabbed onto him. It began to rub and stroke, first very slowly, then more rapidly. Mark responded to its touch almost immediately. In moments, it was all he could do to hold himself back, to hold in reserve that which the unseen visitor requested of him.

The passion between Mark and his unseen companion continued to escalate, and the two returned to the bed. At first, Mark took the initiative, as he always did, but before long, his unseen partner began to assert itself. Soon, the roles were soon reversed, with the unseen one taking the dominant role. The entity gently but firmly pushed Mark back onto the bed, on his back. He started to rise when he felt an unseen weight pressed down onto him, against his chest and hips. He started to resist, but soon assented to the powerful advances of the unseen one.

Mark looked around him, at the impressions in the mattress on either side of him, almost as though formed by knees resting on the mattress, as though someone were straddling him. He looked down as his chest and stomach and thought he saw tiny impressions moving to and fro, as of unseen fingers stroking and caressing him. But apart from these, there was absolutely nothing that Mark could see. He seemed to be alone, yet he wasn’t.

An unseen mouth gently glided down from Mark’s lips, down his chest and stomach and below. As there was nothing to see anyway, Mark simply kept his eyes closed and enjoyed the sensations. The unseen mouth crept lower and lower, and made contact with a certain tender area. When it did, Mark instinctively opened his eyes and looked down. He immediately panicked at what he saw, or rather what he didn’t see.

"It’s gone!" he cried. "Where did it go? What happened to it?" Yet even as he said this, he could still feel it; it was still there, gently caressed by the unseen lips and tongue. But he could no longer see it; it was as though it had been disappeared into thin air.

The unseen mouth withdrew and the missing portion reappeared. Mark let out a sigh of relief. There it is! he thought. The unseen mouth resumed its earlier task, and again the portion disappeared into thin air. Mark watched in amazement, but only for a moment, as he soon found himself overwhelmed by the sensations involved. He rolled back his eyes in ecstasy, and reached his hands down, where they made contact with what felt like the back of a woman’s head. Tenderly, he stroked what felt like long, curly hair, as the invisible mouth continued its task.

For an untold period of time, Mark continued to embrace and be embraced by his strange, ghostly lover. His hands and lips explored every seeming inch of his unseen partner, and he in turn was similarly explored by unseen lips and hands exploring his body as well, touching, gently squeezing and stroking, kissing and caressing him in both expected and unexpected (though not unwelcome) places.

As extraordinary as it all was, none of it seemed strange or out of the ordinary to Mark; rather, it just seemed to be the natural, logical conclusion of all that he’d been interested in, all that he’d been reading and studying for so long. As incredible as it was, Mark could see no reason for why such an extraordinary occurrence could not happen; it all seemed perfectly reasonable…

And so the strange coupling continued, as the seen and the unseen protracted their unique lovemaking into the remainder of the evening and into the night. This spectral commingling drained every last bit of energy that Mark held in reserve in his body, but he gave it willingly, selflessly, as at that point in time, his ghostly partner was the most important thing to him in all the world. He would have given anything to this creature if she/it wanted it, and so he held back nothing, giving all, repeatedly, again and again.

Tina herself was amazed at the passions she herself now felt. It was as though she were at last returning to life after months of a slow, creeping death from dry-rot. She now felt alive again, alive, stronger and more powerful than she had ever been in her life. There was nothing she couldn’t have now, nothing; everything was now hers for the taking. Deep, dark, secret hidden desires, long suppressed and denied, now crept up to the surface of her consciousness. Tina now realized that she was at last in a position to indulge those desires, without question or reproach. So she decided to act upon those long-hidden desires…

And so, Mark’s strange, ghostly visitor began to explore new possibilities, possibilities which never would have occurred to Mark, and which he might, under normal circumstances, have resisted. But now, under the present circumstances, Mark could refuse nothing to this entity. As the entity continued to assert itself, Mark found himself putting up a decreasing level of resistance.

As the night wore on, Mark found himself experiencing some very strange things indeed. Nylon stockings proceeded to tie themselves around his wrists and ankles, binding them to the bedposts. The silken gloves which had earlier graced his cheeks with soft, gentle caresses now tied themselves around his eyes and mouth, gagging and blindfolding him. He started to resist as soon as he realized what was going on, but it all happened so quickly, and with his physical stamina waning and his reactions slowed, he was unable to do anything about it until it was too late. In moments, Mark soon found himself bound, gagged and completely helpless.

With Mark thus immobilized, the ghostly entity continued to have its way with him, using his flesh and his essence without voluntary will of his own. The entity continued in this way for what seemed like hours, gradually sapping Mark’s strength, until at last he was silently pleading for the entity to cease, as by then he had no more to give.

Yet for Tina, it still wasn’t enough. More… she thought. More…I want more… Tina continued to vent her passion upon Mark’s withering flesh. For the first time in months, she now had the power to take what she wanted. Yet no matter how much she took, it wasn’t enough; it only left her wanting more…and still more… It’s been so long…so long… she thought. If only this could go on forever…and ever…

On and on, into the night she continued, as Mark’s stamina waned.

At last, when it seemed to Mark as though the entity would, in fact, go on forever, it abruptly ceased in its pursuit of carnal pleasure. By that time, however, Mark’s body was extremely sore and tender from the relentless, aggressive attentions of his spectral lover. The next thing he knew, the silk glove that had been tied around his eyes suddenly loosened and pulled itself away. The other glove which gagged him similarly loosened and withdrew from his mouth. He opened his eyes and looked around him. The bedroom was now quite dark. From his position on the bed, he couldn’t see the clock, but he guessed the time must be very late; close to midnight. He felt a sensation at his wrists and ankles; he looked to them to see the nylon stockings which bound them loosening by themselves, as though they were being unfastened by unseen fingers. But Mark was so exhausted from the long evening of continuous commingling with the ghostly presence that by the time the last knot was undone, he was barely conscious.

An immense weariness overcame him. He was only vaguely aware of the briefest of impressions. In the darkened bedroom he glimpsed bundles of silken clothes floating up from the bed and off into the corner of the bedroom, where they disappeared from sight beyond his line of vision. He tried to sit up to turn and look, but he didn’t have the strength. He fell back heavily against his pillow, his eyelids growing heavy. His last impression was of a soft hand gently caressing his cheek, and a pair of lips meeting his own in a kiss. But his eyes revealed nothing more than the emptiness of the room. He tried to hold his eyes open for as long as he could, before they finally closed. Moments later, he fell into a deep sleep.

Tina knelt down next to the bed, looking at Mark, continuing to stroke and caress him tenderly with an unseen hand. Poor thing, she thought. He’s exhausted… I wore him out! She smiled to herself in satisfaction. She herself felt pretty tired as well, yet at the same time, she felt wonderful. She felt absolutely glowing, fulfilled and satisfied, after weeks of neglect.

As she looked at Mark’s sleeping form, she reflected on her life with Mark, recalling the feelings she’d had when she first met Mark and they started going together, as well as the deep love that she come to have for him over time. She thought of all the qualities he’d had which she found appealing and which, for a while, she almost seemed in danger of losing. All that had been regained now, she realized. Their love and their passion for each other had now been reignited. All thanks to the magic perfume.

She then rose to her feet, leant over and kissed him. Straightening up, she turned and started toward the bathroom. Well, she thought, it was fun, but now it’s time to fade back into view. She stopped cold in her tracks when a sudden thought occurred to her.

It was no good, she realized. It wasn’t going to work. It had all been a mistake, a terrible mistake. The enormity and the full implications of her mistake began to hit her all at once. Oh, no, she thought. What have I done?