  In wind-fed X-ray binaries, the radiatively driven wind of the primary star
can be suppressed by the EUV irradiation of the compact secondary star, leading
to an increased accretion rate. This causes feedback between the released
accretion power and the luminosity of the compact star. We investigate the
feedback process between the released accretion power and the X-ray luminosity
of the compact star in the unique high-mass X-ray binary Cygnus X-3. We assume
that a part of the wind-fed power experiences a small amplitude variability
around the source luminosity. We propose a simple heuristic model to couple the
influence of EUV irradiation on the stellar wind (from the Wolf-Rayet companion
star) with the X-ray source itself. The resulting time profile of luminosity
mimics that of the input variability, albeit with a larger amplitude. The most
important property of the input variability are turnover times when it changes
its sign and starts to have either positive or negative feedback. The
bolometric luminosity derived by spectral modeling is the time average of the
resulting feedback luminosity. We demonstrate that the erratic behavior of the
X-ray light curve of Cygnus X-3 may have its origin in the small amplitude
variability of the X-ray source and feedback with the companion wind. This
variability could arise in the accretion flow and/or due to the loss of kinetic
energy in a jet or an accretion disk wind. In order to produce similar
properties of the simulated light curve as observed, we have to restrict the
largest accretion radius to a changing level, and assume variable timescales
for the rise and decline phases of the light curve.
