"Early." She crossed her arms. "What are you doing on my couch?"
"I was—" He sat up, running a hand through golden hair that stuck up in several directions. "I was going to head back to the inn. Must've dozed off."
"On my couch."
"Yeah." He stood, reaching for his boots. "Sorry. Long night."
"Doing what?"
"Patrol." He pulled on one boot, then the other, movements stiff like he'd slept wrong. "Varric asked me to help with night watch. Extra eyes with everything going on."
Liar.
Maeve could see it in the way he didn't quite meet her eyes. In the hesitation before answering. In the tension that said he was hiding something and hoping she wouldn't push.
"Patrol that ended on my couch?"
"I was passing by. Figured I'd check the back lot before heading to bed." He stood, tucking in his shirt. "Wanted to makesure this morning's shipment area was secure. Must've sat down for a minute and crashed."
"Must've." She didn't believe him for a second. "And you didn't think to go upstairs and knock? Let me know you were camping out in my office?"
"Didn't want to wake you." He moved toward the door and paused. "Though I guess I did that anyway."
"Yeah, well. Next time try a bed at the inn you're paying for."
"Next time I'll try not to fall asleep on duty." His mouth curved, that insufferable smirk. "Though your couch is surprisingly comfortable."
"It's not meant to be slept on by six-foot-two lions."
"Six-foot-three."
"I don't care if you're seven feet. Stay off my furniture."
"Yes ma'am." He grabbed his jacket from where it hung on her desk chair. "For what it's worth, everything looked fine outside. No signs of tampering."
That should've been reassuring. Instead, it just made her more suspicious. He'd spent all night patrolling and ended up on her couch? That didn't track. Lions didn't just fall asleep in random places unless something had driven them there.
Unless something had made them feel like they needed to stand guard.
"What aren't you telling me?" she asked.
"Nothing." Too fast. Too defensive. "Just doing my job."
"Your job doesn't include sleeping in my office."
"My job includes keeping an eye on potential sabotage targets." He met her gaze, amber eyes steady. "Your tavern qualifies. So I checked it. Found nothing. Crashed for a minute. End of story."
It wasn't the end of anything. But pushing him would just make him dig in deeper. Lions were stubborn that way.Especially alpha males who thought protecting people meant keeping secrets.
"Fine." She moved past him, heading for the main tavern. "But next time you decide to camp out, at least text so I don't think someone broke in."
"You knew it was me."
"I guessed it was you." She started prepping the bar for opening. "Could've been Breck breaking in for free beer."
"Breck would've emptied your taps, not fallen asleep on your couch."
"True." Despite herself, her mouth twitched. "He's got priorities."
