"A dwindling candle is probably a poor euphemism." After all, a phallic object being reduced to mush at the end was more appropriate of what happened after the sex.

He dropped his shirt to the floor. He knew quite well that Effie had a certain way of doing things and while ripping off each other's clothes in the throes of passion certainly could be fun, it did reduce the amount of wear and tear when it was handled in this very straight forward manner.