The refusal hit the room like a physical force.
"NO!" the two alphas roared together, the sound overlapping so perfectly that for one surreal second Chris was convinced some higher-power conductor had lifted a baton and commanded unity.
Marianne surged half out of her chair.
Dax straightened like a weapon, remembering what it was made for.
It would have been funny, if not for the fact that both of them radiated enough offended dominance to make the air itself flinch.
"No," Marianne snapped again, planting her feet firmly back on the ground. "Absolutely not. I will fake diplomacy. I will endure royal stupidity. I will smile politely at international tragedy disguised as policy. I will not, under any circumstance, pretend to flutter my eyelashes at him."
"Nor will she," Dax said darkly, as if Marianne were a toddler threatening to touch fire. "This discussion ends now."
