Big Brother Billionaire (Part Three) by Lexie Ray

own,” I teased. “I don’t mind it. It gives me more of a sense of control and helps me determine the best course of action to improve things.”
    “I wouldn’t mind a late-late-late dinner,” he insisted.
    “There’s nowhere nice that’s open that late,” I said. “Could I recommend a dining partner for you?”
    “If that’s what you think is best,” Marcus said, sounding a little resigned.
    And that was how I started sending escorts my stepbrother’s way.
    It was a double-edged sword, when I started doing it, as I suspected it might be. On the one hand, it was a relief that Marcus wasn’t sitting around, waiting for me. He could have fun on his own, and my employees could make a living. It also took a lot of pressure off of me wondering if he might try to reinitiate our various intimacies.
    But then I found myself hating to see him having a good time with the dancers I sent him. I chose a different one each time, telling myself that I was spreading his wealth around my club, but secretly acknowledging the fact that I didn’t want him to get close to anyone. It was the same reason I pushed Faith in his direction, but she was such an ingénue and a bright light that I was truly afraid something would ignite between them.
    Like it or not, I was still attracted to Marcus—just, I suspected, as he was attracted to me. And yet we held each other at arm’s length, closer than we had been in so many years, but still so far apart.
    We didn’t know what we wanted with each other. I didn’t know if I was ready for a relationship again. It had gotten so good to be on my own. And I didn’t think it was fair for me to hide him away from the rest of the world. If he had wild oats to sow, he was more than welcome to do so.
    When my craving for his touch got too deep, I took a lover. But in an effort not to get too close to anybody, I rarely slept with the same man twice. It was the first time in my life I’d done something like this, and it was oddly freeing. Most people did one-night stands in their early twenties, but I was just discovering them for completely different perks in my late thirties.
    I thought getting older would mean something, but it didn’t. I wasn’t dancing anymore, so I didn’t have a time bomb inside of me, and I had no desire for children. I only started to worry, as I started to dye my hair to conceal the grays, smooth on expensive products every night, and seriously consider Botox, that maybe Marcus might see me someday and decide he wasted the best years of his life waiting on something that was never going to happen.
    I knew that I still had it bad for Marcus, no matter how good I was at being by myself. I just was afraid I had waited too long. That it was too late for us.
     

Chapter 3
     
    Years go by, Parker, but love doesn’t fade. It’s never faded for me. Yes, I’ve been with other women physically, but no one has ever had my heart the way you have. I know you’ve been with other men, but you somehow always seem alone. Who are you saving yourself for? If not for me, then you have to find someone. You deserve to love someone and be loved in return.
    Maybe there’s more than one person out there for you. I’ve searched high and low for mine, but I’m still convinced that it’s you.
    Don’t let that stop you. Love, if you want. Love, if you can.
    I never want there to be any question that I love you. I love you, now and always.
    If you ever think you can let yourself love me, please let me be the first one to know. I’d give up everything for you. I’d give away every penny I’ve saved for the life I imagined for us if you just said the word. Don’t you understand that I am your slave?
    I’m a slave to the love I have for you, Parker. I don’t know if it’s healthy. I don’t care.
    I love you. Always have. Always will. It only grows stronger with each passing breath.
    I love you.
     
    That black box on top of the closet was calling to me. I could hear it over the