The Daily Struggles of an Immortal

by Kurtis Eckstein

  It lasted longer too.

  When her muscles finally released, she went limp and closed her eyes, focusing on her breathing. After a few minutes, she slowly peaked at me through her eyelids, her irises still that tame vibrant orange, and she looked up at me affectionately.

  “Your turn,” she whispered with a small smile.

  I smirked at her.

  She didn’t have to tell me twice.

  While I had certainly enjoyed myself over the last few months, this was the first time I was actually having sex with her. Like real sex, where I wasn’t anticipating the inevitable bonfire that would soon happen. Sex where I was actually sincerely enjoying it.

  And as for her getting there, it was her first time ever. Period. And she was not disappointed.

  But it wasn't about our slow speed. It was about the emotions behind it.

  I was glad we had spent so much time working on her ability to control her flames, but ultimately it appeared we had taken the wrong approach entirely. Lily was nearly incapable of having raw passionate sex, but she could have intimate tender sex – the kind she could only share with someone she truly loved affectionately.

  The kind she could share with me – the guy who had literally walked through hell for her every day for the last five months just because I wanted her that badly.

  It would be impossible for her to ever stop appreciating what I'd done for her. Because she knew that even if someone else had been capable of doing this for her, most people would never have stuck with her so long. They would have given up on day one, on the first try.

  Just like she had been expecting me to do.

  And yet, when I had told her that I was sticking with her indefinitely, she quickly understood that I was sticking with her forever, no matter what. Five months of daily torture on her behalf was four months and twenty-nine days longer than necessary to prove that fact to her. But it wasn't until now that she fully realized my level of commitment.

  And more importantly, it wasn't until now that she realized her own level of commitment.

  Telling her I loved her had been the catalyst. Those emotions had already been there inside both of us, growing more powerful every day, but there was something about it being out in the open that caused our individual emotions to bond into one. It took on a life of its own, creating something new between us that was unbreakable.

  As we laid in bed together just staring into each other’s eyes, a thought occurred to me that I had long since been in denial about.

  Maybe being immortal wasn’t such a bad superpower after all.

  7: Kidnapped by a Hottie

  Okay, I was wrong.

  Being immortal sucked!

  At least, that’s what I was thinking while having my neck torn out for the tenth time that day, so the villain chick who had a need for blood could feed. This sucked literally.

  Freya Rosetti ran her thin hand along my exposed abs as she gleefully slurped from the crook of my neck.

  I didn’t even bother struggling anymore, since there was nothing I could do about the chains that bound me to the concrete floor in her basement. She hadn’t even been considerate enough to give me something soft to recline on while she fed off me. Just the hard, cold floor.

  I had to admit that she was hot when she wasn’t sucking me dry. But damn, seeing her beautiful face distort, as her mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth and her jaw widened, was one of the most horrifying sights I’d ever seen. I was surprised no one realized what she was, since red eyes weren’t that common, even despite the multitude of unnatural characteristics in the world.

  Granted, the rest of her looked normal, and since most people wore reality enhancement contacts in every color imaginable, I knew I really shouldn’t be too surprised. She had pitch-black hair and pale skin that, in combination, really made her crimson irises pop.

  She had kidnapped me after work yesterday, taking advantage of the rare opportunity of me leaving without Lily so that I could buy my girlfriend a present for her birthday on March 21. I intentionally waited until the day before her birthday to avoid her accidentally discovering her gift.

  When we got back to Freya’s house, I found myself thankful that my bones were impossible to shift out of place. Because the moment she had the opportunity, she attacked my neck so viciously that a normal person’s head would have come clean off.

  Certainly, I had suffered plenty of trauma that should have broken my bones, but they never did break. And I had never once lost my head or had a body part severed. Somehow, my bones always stayed together, even when there was nothing left of me except a skeleton.

  Unfortunately, I had Lily to blame for this, though I’d never hold it against her. She had been tricked into revealing I was immortal. This vampire chick had been grooming her for months ever since she discovered Lily and I were dating, trying to find out how we made it work.

  I had never told Lily that my immortality needed to be kept a secret from most people, so really it was my fault. Especially since a handful of people at the office knew. Everyone else just thought I had abnormal healing abilities, but they had no idea the extent. The primary difference being that other regenerating supers weren’t very useful to blood-thirsty villains, like this chick, who drank so fast that even a super who could heal wouldn’t be able to recover.

  My heart would literally stop momentarily from the blood-loss.

  This type of situation was the exact kind of reason why I had filled out the special paperwork to ensure my specific ability wasn’t listed in the world superpower database – it had taken a ton of hoops to jump through, but with a good lawyer and plenty of incidents to explain the hardship it was causing me on a daily basis, they gave in.

  Finally done feeding, the hot sexy devil sat back on her heels, her mouth reshaping into an alluring jawline. She was wearing an electric-blue silk nightgown that barely went past her waist...and nothing else. I tried to keep my eyes on her face.

  She sighed heavily. “That was amazing,” she said with a smirk. She then ran her warm fingertips along my torso again, pausing as she felt my muscled chest. I hadn’t lifted weights in over five months since I had started dating Lily, but I was still just as toned as if I had worked out yesterday. Not to mention I had been using almost every muscle in my body when making love to Lily. Really, I just put more emphasis on my cardio.

  The seductive vixen sighed again. “Are you sure you don’t want me to reward you?” Her hand ran down to my lower stomach, her grin mischievous. “This doesn’t have to be so bad.”

  I sighed as my neck finally closed up all the way. Five months ago, I might have tapped that in a heartbeat, because she was super-hot and it would be nice to get something out of this situation. Usually when horrible things happened to me, there was no hope of getting anything beneficial in return.

  But getting kidnapped and having the hot kidnapper offer you sex? Shit, why not?

  Except I was really attached to Lily now. I already knew from experience that having a dedicated intimate relationship with one person could be extremely rewarding – far more rewarding than having causal partners. Because there was a level of trust, commitment, and belonging that you couldn’t get with casual relationships. Really, it was just that – the deepness of the relationship that could only be obtained when committing wholeheartedly with one person. And I had that relationship with Lily now.

  But there was another reason too, besides Lily.

  Having my neck torn out wasn’t exactly a turn-on for me.

  I mean, yeah, I was healed now – my blood already having replenished, but I wasn’t about to screw the supermodel that still had my blood on her lips.

  I ignored her question to ask my own instead. “Do you really need to drink my blood ten times a day?” I complained.

  She looked down at me apologetically. “Sorry. I just get thirsty when I’m horny. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you all night. I’ve never had a man who I could enjoy more than once.”
/>   Wait. Now I was confused. All night? Had it only been half a day since she had kidnapped me? It felt a lot longer than that. Or maybe it had been a day and a half already? Either way, ten times was a lot for me. I scoffed at her. “Okay, well how often to you actually need to feed?”

  She rested her finger on her slender chin as she thought about it, her expression misleadingly innocent. “I mean, really I could get by with once a week.”

  I immediately glared at her.

  “What?” She asked innocently.

  “Seriously Freya?! A week?!” I scoffed again. “Can’t we make a deal or something? Like, I’ll let you drink my blood once a day if you want, in exchange for you letting me go.”

  She crossed her arms over her small perky chest and humphed. “You’ll just run away.”

  I glared at her again. “You realize I allowed Lily to burn me alive for three hours every day when we were first dating, right?”

  She dropped her arms. “Well, yes, she did mention that…”

  “Exactly!” I spat out. “Trust me when I say that you drinking my blood once a day wouldn’t be so bad in comparison.”

  Her eyes dropped then, and her expression became somber. “But I really want to keep you,” she whispered, her hand returning to my abs. She stroked me gently from my navel to my chest and back again. The sudden tenderness from her was starting to affect me. I was already forgetting about what she had just done to my neck.

  “But let’s think this through,” I countered in a more gentle tone. “They’ll probably find me eventually–”

  She smirked, cutting me off. “No they won’t.”

  I ignored her. “And, when they do, you’ll end up going to prison, never to see me again. Alternatively, if I’m letting you drink my blood willingly, while I continue to live my normal life, then you’ll see me every day.”

  Despite her confidence that they’d never find me in her basement, my comment gave her pause. She hesitated as she considered it. “But how can I know you’re telling me the truth?” She wondered quietly, her hand still resting on my stomach.

  I sighed heavily, deciding I’d have to give her a good reason…an honest reason. “Do you know why I haven’t screamed once?” I asked seriously. She stared at me for a moment, before shaking her head hesitantly. I continued. “Because for over a hundred and fifty years now I’ve been torturing myself daily in order to build up my pain tolerance. That’s part of the reason why I put up with Lily burning me alive every day.” I paused then, letting that sink in. “But now Lily and I are having sex regularly without any more explosions, which means I’ve had to go back to my old rituals.” I sighed then. “Do you get it now?”

  She nodded slowly. “I’d be doing you a favor then. By drinking your blood every day.”

  I nodded, concerned about the passion slowly growing in her eyes. The idea that she’d be helping me out just as much I’d be helping her out was really turning her on.

  “Okay,” she finally whispered. She then abruptly held up her finger. “But I swear, if you don’t keep your promise, then I’ll kidnap you again and feed on you fifty times a day. Deal?”

  Despite myself, I smiled at her, because she looked so cute and innocent when she said it. “Deal,” I agreed before paused. “And you need to apologize to Lily,” I added, seeing that she was really going to let me go. “Today was her birthday.”

  “Yesterday,” she corrected me, knowing I wasn’t aware of how much time had passed. I glared at her again. She grinned, rolling her eyes. “Oh, alright. I’ll call her right now.” She then hopped up and disappeared up the stairs to grab her phone.

  She was actually right when saying they might never find me down here. Not only did no one have a clue of where I was, but the entrance to her basement was well hidden behind a secret door in one of her closets. Even if the police showed up at her house, they’d never discover her secret lair.

  I heard Freya begin to speak cheerfully as she was heading back down. “Hey Lily! So, umm, I need to tell you something. I sort of kidnapped your boyfriend, but I’ve decided to let him go. He–” She paused then, as a muffled voice on the other line started shouting.

  Freya scoffed. “Well if you’re going to be such a bitch about it, then maybe–” She paused again. “Umm, excuse me? Bitch! Don’t even start with me. I’ll–”

  I interrupted her. “Let me talk to her,” I snapped. She obviously didn’t play well with others.

  Freya rolled her crimson eyes and then complied by walking over to me and crouching down to hold the phone up to my ear. She wasn’t even trying to be modest as she revealed she literally only had on the blue silk nightgown, and nothing else. It was hard not to look.

  What she had going on down there was perfect – the epitome of female anatomy. And she was either well groomed or just naturally hairless everywhere except her head, eyebrows, and eyelashes.

  “Lily,” I began, “I’m okay, but you need to calm down.”

  “Calm down?!” She shouted in my ear. “I’ve never been so scared in my entire life! I didn’t know what had happened to you! And part of me was afraid you’d left me!”

  I sighed. “Lily, I love you. I’ll never leave you. I promise.”

  She was suddenly silent, and I could just barely hear her choke up a little. “I love you too,” she whispered. But then her voice grew hard. “I swear I’m going to fry that bitch! I thought she was my friend!”

  I quickly interrupted her before she could continue. “Look, I know you’re upset, but let me handle this, okay? I’ve made a deal with her that benefits everyone, so there’s no need to fight over it.”

  Lily was quiet for a moment, her voice suddenly icy. “What kind of deal?” She hissed.

  I sighed again. “I’m going to let her drink my blood once a day.”

  “Drink your...what?! Like hell you are!” She exclaimed. “If that bitch so much as lays another finger on you, I’ll–”

  “Lily!” I interrupted her again. “Please just trust me, okay? I’m not going to sleep with her! I’m just letting her drink my blood. It takes her like two minutes tops.” Freya abruptly started running her free hand along the electric-blue silk clinging to her body, biting her lower lip as she stared at me seductively. I glared at her, trying to tell her non-verbally to stop. But she didn’t, instead just grinning as she slipped her hand in between her legs.

  Lily was complaining again, but I was finding it difficult to focus. I finally closed my eyes. “Lily! Listen, I’m not going to cheat on you, but I’m doing this, okay? She’s not going to let me go unless I agree to it.”

  “Fine! Do whatever you want! I’m still going to burn that bitch the next time I see her! And then I’m going to screw you so hard you’ll wish you could die! And I’m not talking about with my fire! I’ll wear you out until you’re begging me to stop!”

  Damn. Why was that so hot?

  “Umm…please do?” I said hesitantly.

  That gave her pause. She was silent then for a few seconds, before finally replying. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I was just really worried about you.”

  “I know, and I’m really sorry I missed your twenty-ninth birthday. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

  She humphed. “You better mister! I was really looking forward to birthday sex!”

  “I’m sorry,” I said sincerely. “I will make it up to you.”

  Unexpectedly, the phone disappeared from my ear as Freya pulled it way. My eyes flew open to look at her, with her hand still in between her thighs. “Alright you two,” she said more to Lily than to me, “you can make up later. Lily, I’m sorry, okay? I’ll bring him back within the next hour.”

  “Next hour?!” I heard Lily yell so loud I could even hear it. “Bring him back now!”

  Freya just smirked and hung up the phone, setting it down on the concrete next to her.

  I just stared at her in disbelief, not liking the mischievous look in her eye.

  8: And Then There Were Two
/>
  “Dammit Nick! Dammit! How in the hell do you keep getting your stupid bistin lodged in the ventilation system?! What. In. The. Hell?!”

  “I’m sorry man. It was an accident. I can be super clumsy sometimes.”

  I couldn’t even tell if he was being serious right now. I was too pissed to even look at him. He was definitely super something, and I knew clumsy wasn’t the right word. It was good we were alone in the breakroom, because I was seriously struggling to keep my anger under control. After a second, I finally glared at him. “What is this Nick? Seriously. Is it because we don’t hang out enough?”

  He just shrugged. A telltale sign he might be doing this on purpose.

  “I swear Nick! You better be glad my superpower isn’t lethal like Lily’s, because I would have killed you a hundred times over from just how pissed I am right now!”

  He sighed, changing the subject. “So how’s that going anyway? I heard you’re banging her friend too.”

  I just gawked at him. “Who in the hell told you that?!” I exclaimed in disbelief.

  He shrugged again. “Word gets around. I think Dave saw the three of you together at the mall or something.”

  I crossed my arms and glared at him. Of course, people would make ridiculous assumptions from something so unassuming as that. It was true that Freya had gone to the mall with us to get Lily a birthday present too, but that’s all it was. She wanted to try to make amends after kidnapping me. Apparently, they had been friends a lot longer than I thought.

  A lot longer. Like, more than a decade.

  Freya was actually Lily’s best friend, and had been since before Lily was twenty.

  I scoffed at him. “Well, that’s a lie. Lily is the only person I’ve had sex with in over a hundred years.” Although, I wasn’t about to tell him that Freya generally pleasured herself when she was drinking my blood once a day.