Say you need to think about it

"Oh, Lance," you whisper, "I- I'm flattered and very tempted, but we hardly know each other--"

"I know enough," Lance says. "You're kind and strong, and gentle, and passionate. Fearless, beautiful, and you have the most amazing body I've ever seen. But I can understand if you don't want to marry a cripple who can never satisfy you like a real man could--"

"You are a real man," you say, "and my hesitancy has nothing to do with your injury. As much as I want to say yes, I need to be practical. Say I marry you, what then? Where do you live? What do you do? What about my father? I can't just leave him, he needs me. And what if he won't let me marry a human? I don't know if I can go against his wishes. And what about children? Humans and Beastkin cannot interbreed, so even if you weren't injured, I would have to look elsewhere to conceive. Would you be okay with that? What about--"

Lance presses his fingertips against your lips, interrupting your increasingly anxious string of unanswerable questions.

"We'd figure it out," he says. "You can live with me, or I'll build us a cottage in your village, so you can still help your father. If he doesn't like humans, I'll do my best to change his opinion, but in the end, that will be between you and him. I want children, but I've come to terms with the fact that I'll never have children of my own, so however you are able to conceive is fine with me. I'm not a possessive man, but I do value honesty in a relationship."

He reaches up, stroking your face. "You don't have to give me an answer now, just say that you'll consider my offer. If we grow to love each other as much as I think we might, there isn't anything we couldn't overcome."

"I will think about it," you promise. "But...there is one other thing, a rather large issue. I still owe Simon a great deal of money. I may be here for a long time, and I may have to do any number of unimaginable things to earn my freedom. Will you still feel the same way about me after I've been used by so many others?"

Lance leans close and kisses you, slow and deep. "Don't worry about that. I was a soldier, remember? I understand doing what you have to in order to survive." He reaches down and draws the comforter up over both of you, then snuggles up against your side, his arms wrapped around you. Warm, safe, and content, you close your eyes and let yourself drift off to sleep.