There were no barriers between him and Colleen. No secrets.
Laying the towel in the water, he placed the bowl next to Colleen. He pressed a soft kiss to her shoulder and made sure her braid was out of the way.
Drawing out the moment would only increase Colleen’s fear, and he just wanted her to experience pleasure. Max doused his torch in the brandy and held it over the candle’s flame, watching it burst to life. Without hesitation, he set the torch to the brandy on her skin.
***
The small hairs on the back of her neck rose, her muscles tensing in shock. A lightning bolt speeded up her spine. She sucked in a breath as the heat grew, and grew, until she was just about to call out. Max smoothed a cool, damp cloth up her back, extinguishing the heat before it turned into a burn.
She released a shaky breath.
Max squeezed her hip. “How was that?”
Colleen took a second to consider. The skin over her backbone felt tender, and tingly, but there was no pain. “Was I truly on fire?”
He chuckled. “You truly were.” He bent over her, and his cock nestled against her bottom. “It was beautiful. The fire raced up your spine, following the path of the brandy before I snuffed it out,” he whispered, his breath hot on her ear. Sucking the lobe into his mouth, he gently bit down.
Lust dug a hook into her center and tugged. “More,” she breathed out.
The mattress dipped. “All right. But I don’t want you to overheat. Open up.” He tapped her lips with something hard and frozen.
Her eyes flew open. “Ice? That’s what the servant brought?”
“Yes.”
She opened her mouth for another question, and he popped the shard inside. She wanted to complain about his highhandedness, but the ice felt refreshing in her mouth, and she settled for a decided sniff. She let the ice melt, sucking on the cold water it released.
Max laid another frozen piece at the nape of her neck. Shivers flooded her body as he traced the length of her spine with the ice. Her body shuddered under a different kind of burn. Following the damp trail with his mouth, he placed hot, open-mouthed kisses along each vertebra, warming up what he’d just chilled.
Colleen bit her bottom lip and dug her fingers into the pillow. Hot, cold, hot. Her senses couldn’t keep up.
Gripping her leg, he tugged her knee up until it was bent beside her hip. “Open up,” he repeated.
Colleen nibbled on her ice, uncertain what he was asking. When he slid another slick piece inside her core, she just about choked. “What?! Cold!” she yelled around her mouthful.
“Don’t you want me to warm you up again?” He drizzled liquid across her bum and drew patterns through the brandy with his finger. Colleen wiggled, her body trying to escape the frigid intrusion, when the skin on her bottom flared awake. Streaks of heat raced across her arse. The warmth battled with the ice spreading through her core until her toes curled and a whimper was torn from her throat. Max swiped the wet towel over her skin, the cloth abrading the sensitized flesh.
Colleen drooped, every muscle as limp as an underwatered flower. She was as wrung out as though she’d walked the entire length of London.
Max set more and more lines of brandy alight, the burn on her skin receding less and less between each treatment, making her squirm. All her ice had melted, and she almost wished he’d insert another piece. She wanted to crawl out of her skin. Wanted him to touch every inch of her body with his torch. Anything to ease her ache. “Max!”
“Need something, love?”
Did she need something? Colleen needed for Max to stop sounding so smug. So controlled. She was clawing at the sheets, and he was as collected as a duchess taking tea. His mastery, over the fire, over her, burned away her barriers. She was exposed, laid completely bare. She needed Max to breach the space between them. Make them one.
Reaching back, she took hold of the stiff length. He felt as hot under her palm as the torch. She tried to guide him to her channel, but he pulled back.
He zig-zagged a chunk of ice across her back. “Are you sure you’re ready? I haven’t put flame to anyplace very wicked. And you haven’t begged nearly enough.”
She chucked her pillow over her shoulder at him.
He swatted it away with a growl. “All right then.” He tossed the bowl onto the side table, water sloshing over the rim, and doused the torch in the bowl. Grabbing her hips, he jerked her bum up and entered her with one long stroke.
Colleen moaned, the relief exquisite. She didn’t need anything else but Max deep inside of her. Filling her up. Making them one. She breathed deep and enjoyed the moment.
The respite didn’t last long. Max pulled out until just his crown remained notched in her body and slammed back home. He set up a punishing rhythm and the heat crept back, even hotter than when he played with fire.
Crawling over her, Max threaded his fingers through hers and pressed her chest down into the mattress. He continued thrusting, the angle changed, different nerve endings sparking. “I can’t get enough of you, Colleen.” He bit her shoulder.
