Chapter 28 The stranger

Chapter 28 The stranger
It’d been over a week and there was still no response from the private investigator Adrian had hired to look into his sister’s disappearance.

He’d been so caught up with the project and the fans that he’d pushed Lily to the back of his mind without knowing. 

It made him feel guilty, especially because they were the only family they each had.

He scrolled through his contact while waiting for Rowan to get out of the shower. He found the contact saved with only a skull emoji and sent a text.

Any bit of feedback would put his mind at ease.

“What’s wrong?”

Adrian immediately looked up when he heard Rowan’s gruff voice. He put his phone away and tried not to be pulled into the man standing before him with just a towel tied around his waist.

“Nothing. Elias is already at the studio, he wants to talk about a brand ambassadorship for a clothing brand. He’ll give us the details when we meet.”

Rowan narrowed his eyes and Adrian but said nothing. He used a smaller towel to dry his hair.

“We’re going to be late if you don’t hurry up,” Adrian said, his gaze drifting back to Rowan’s muscled stomach where a drop of water was making its way down to his waist.

Adrian gulped.

An image of him getting down on his knees and slowly licking that particular drop of water flashed in his head.

He knew without doubt that the liquid would taste like. Cider with a hint of that sweet vanilla and—

Adrian froze.

Just what the hell was he doing?

He felt something in his pants stir, the fabric suddenly growing tight. He immediately turned before Rowan could see the dent in his pants.

“I’ll be out on the balcony when you’re ready,” he muttered and practically broke into a run.

He could hear Rowan asking if everything was okay, but thankfully he did not follow him.

“What the heck was that?” Adrian asked himself, hand on his chest as he tried to bring his heartbeat down to the normal rhythm. 

Except that had become impossible because every time he shut his eyes, the image of that drop of water running down Rowan’s stomach would reappear.

Part of the reason he’d been able to stay celibate was because he’d never found anyone sexually attractive.

Whether it was people he’d been introduced to, blind dates that were beautiful in their own right or co-actors he’d starred in romance movies with—no one had ever appealed to him sexually.

If Adrian was being truthful to himself, he’d be able to admit that Rowan was the only person that had come close to giving him a full-on boner.

Fish.

He had to think of fish.

Adrian thought of water instead and how the taste of it on Rowan’s skin.

“Fuck!” 

Why was he acting like a hormonal teenager that was seeing a naked person for the first time? If anything he always took pride in controlling his urges.

“Adrian, the car is here.”

Adrian tried to keep the image of a deep fish in his head as he adjusted his pants. Luckily it worked, but he was red in the face when he joined Rowan on the way downstairs.

“Are you cold?” Rowan asked, noting the color in his cheeks.

Adrian shook his head, afraid that his voice would betray his thoughts. He needed to speak to Jack immediately.

There had to be a reason he was reacting this way to Rowan even though he hated him. 

They’d barely entered the studio when director Daniel Kwon joined them.

“Natalie will be running a bit late, she’s stuck in traffic.” Daniel clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention. “Adrian and Rowan, you can practice a bit while you wait for her.”

“The rest of you—” he gestured to the other actors, “please come with me.”

It was only Adrian and Rowan left in the practice room by themselves. 

“Do you want to sit and wait until she comes?” Rowan asked without looking up from his phone.

Adrian’s voice was clipped when he answered, “No.”

Rowan had barely paid any attention to him, especially after his whole speech about caring for Adrian.

He’d really been messing around with Adrian’s feelings.

With nothing else to do, Adrian walked to the window. He stood there, looking out into the street below them. 

He was about to look away when he caught sight of someone staring back at the building. 

The person in question was wearing a baseball cap that had a skull embroidered on the front. Whoever it was suddenly tilted their head in Adrian’s direction.

Adrian froze—

Even without seeing the person’s face, he was almost certain that they were looking at him.

Without wasting time Adrian ran out of the door, taking the steps instead of the elevator. Was that guy spying on him? Or was he a crazy fan that was stalking him?

There was only one way for Adrian to find out.

His legs were aching by the time he made it to the ground floor. His eyes darted around the street until he caught sight of the baseball cap disappearing into an alleyway.

Adrian followed even though he knew how dangerous the situation could easily become. He kept his down and walked into the alleyway.

There were abandoned cartoons and empty paperbags littered everywhere. He was about to turn the corner when someone grabbed him from behind.

“Where do you think you’re going?” The person breathed against Adrian’s ear.

Adrian didn’t bother with a response. 

Instead, he made a mental calculation of the man’s size before twisting to the side and hurling the man on the floor.

It was the guy with the baseball cap. He immediately removed it.

“Paul?” Adrian called in confusion. “Why are you sneaking around?”

“Jesus fucking christ! I’ve warned you never to use my birth name.”

It was the private investigator.

“I’ve been waiting for your response for the past week. What the hell happened to your phone?”

“What?” Adrian pulled out his phone. “I didn’t get any text from you.”

Paul stood up, dusting off his pants. “I sent a text a week ago telling you that I’ve found Lily.”