<strong>"I believe that there might just be."</strong>Cernunnos replied, the heat in his tone reflecting the darkness that danced in his eyes.<strong>"And what you have been too polite to mention is the fact that when one has seen as many decades pass as I have, there is a tendency to see almost anyone as a child, despite their years, and the experience those years have wrought."</strong>He gave a soft chuckle and sipped once more from his drink.<br/><br/>His eyes fixed on her, then began a slow move down and back up her body, seeming to strip away every piece of clothing with the weight and intensity of the gaze.<strong>"I can see full well that you are no child Dawn, that you are a woman full grown. So yes, if it is your wish to offer me a chance and a choice, as consort, then for my people I would say yes. And for the lack of disgust in your eyes when you look upon a man, then for myself, I would say yes, yes, and thrice yes. I would put the politics aside for the hours of darkness that the Goddess and Consort grant us, and feel the heat of your skin against mine, and see our shadows cast upon the walls by the glow of fire or skin."</strong><br/><br/>His eyes fixed steadily on hers.<strong>"I am who and what I am, and my ways are not as gentle as some. I would warn you of that now, so you know what it is that will come."</strong>His chest seemed to rise and fall more now, his breathing slowing, deepening, as if he were drawing in her scent.<br/><br/>In the chamber around them, the shadows whispered and rustled, but no voices ... or at least, none she could hear ... were raised.