Hey Beagle,
Agreed with Melody. You fear rejection but you reject yourself from the situation completely by not going for it. Two options: you go for it and have a chance of something happening or not go for it an have a 100% guarantee of nothing happening. If you take a chance the worst thing that happens is you stay exactly where you are. You don't gain anything but you don't lose anything either.
You need to get that "gentleman" programming that you learned from your mother out of your head, it doesn't serve you well. "I don't want to offend" asking a woman out is not offensive. Having sex is not offensive. An orgasm is not the worst thing in the world you could give a woman.
You seem to have the qualities of a
"nice" guy. Click on the link to read the article I wrote on the subject of being a nice guy.