Another noon wake-up call. This was going to end up being a hard habit to break when he got back to the station if he wasn’t careful. But the whole idea was for him to unwind, and he can’t say he hasn’t been doing that. The past few days have been relatively quiet, with good food, nature walks, a three-hour lap around a lazy river, and all the sleep he could ask for. It was at the point he was tired of being tired and was ready to get out and do something again. But one drawback of his never-ending naps was the lethargy growing in his limbs. He remembered from the café a few days ago that it was recommended for him to get a massage. Perhaps now was the best time to do that before ramping up the activities once more.

With his beach towel in hand, Michael headed for the coastline. There were several private cabanas stationed at reasonable intervals along the sand, giving partygoers enough room to get rowdy, whilst not completely bothering their neighbors. After picking his place, Michael took the PADD that was next to one of the lounge chairs and made his drink order, a Vehlaran Mai Tai would be his choice for today, as he looked to at least sample the entire drink menu by the end of his stay, while staying conscious to remember such a feat. It did not take long for a hostess to arrive with his drink in hand. This one was a hologram, at least he was confident enough in the fact, since he did not sense her presence in the slightest.

“Your drink, sir! We will keep it refilled for you until you tell us otherwise or change your order.” The attendant spoke. Michael nodded, taking the drink and giving it an approving sip. “Thank you.”

“If there is anything else you require, please feel free to ask.” She responded, very script-like. Michael unbuttoned his shirt and discarded it on one of the lounge chairs. “You know, someone suggested I needed a massage, know where I can get one around here?” he asked, as he began to apply a light coat of sunscreen to his face and chest. The hostess didn’t even react to his shirt coming off, ‘definitely a hologram or an android,’ he confirmed to himself. “We can have a trained masseuse come to your cabana in about half an hour, if you would like me to schedule an appointment.” It responded.

Michael gave a warm smile, “That works, gives me a chance to take a quick swim.” With a bow, the hostess departed back to the resort, leaving Michael the chance to wade into the saltwater waves and splash about. He didn’t swim long, more like waded in and out of the water before returning to his cabana and lying out on one of the chairs for a bit of sun. He must have dozed off again, because by the time he roused again, his hair was dry, there was a shadow cast over him, and the sound of the waves was muddled by…purring?

Opening his eyes, Michael could see a tall figure standing over him. He had to squint to see that an all-black Caitian female in an orange Monokini, and a white satin cloth tied to her waist, was staring down at him, lightly purring. “Oh, sorry. I seemed to have dozed off, I’m not in your spot, am I?” he tried to initiate, sitting up in his chair. “Oh no, honey, I’m here for you.” She hummed, crossing her arms under her bust and continuing to stare down at him, as her tail twitched slightly behind her. “M-m-me?” he stammered. The Caitian leaned down, moving onto the chair he occupied, and with one hand on Michael’s shoulder, guided him back down on the chair, pressing her body against his. “You ordered me, didn’t you?” she whispered, her face only a few inches away from his.

His mind began to race. He didn’t remember ordering anyone, especially not in THAT capacity. As he desperately tried to get a response out, the Caitian sat back up, chuckling at him. “Relax! I’m your masseuse, silly!” she continued to bellow, as Michael lay there, red-faced for several seconds before breathing a sigh of relief. “I am SOOO sorry, I…” he tried to defend, but it only caused her to laugh more. “It’s ok, if you’re going to mess with a betazoid, ya got to catch them off guard! You were too easy a prey not to tease,” she snickered. She stood up and lent a paw to help him sit back up, to which he took graciously. “You really are wound up tight.” She declared, glancing at him over. He nodded in response, “You could say that again…”

“I’m Clara, I’ll be taking care of you this afternoon. Let’s get started with a brief rundown of what’s bothering you.” She introduced, taking a seat next to him and crossing her legs over one another. “Head to toe, been a stressful few months, and the past couple of days, all I have done is sleep, and despite how comfortable the beds are, I still wake up super sore.” He explained.

“Yeah, not that you may not need the rest, but too much of it will cause your muscles and joints to become apathetic. What I would suggest today is a general joint adjustment and deep tissue massage.” At the word deep, Clara flexed her paw, retracting her claws for show. Michael felt a tinge of concern at the sight of them until he realized they were each coated in an orange soft plastic cap, which eased his concerns. “Don’t worry, I only scratch if you beg nicely.” She teased once again, causing more blush to build up in Michael’s cheeks. “Come on, let’s get you lying face down on the chair, and I can get started.” She declared, with a sharp barking command.

Michael followed his orders and repositioned himself on the lounge chair, now fully flattened out. He could feel Clara straddle his back, which he wasn’t sure was a part of the massage or the continuous ribbing, but he was going for the ride regardless. The paw pads of Clara’s hands were super soft, as she ran them across the length of his back, kneading into his shoulder blades, and pulling back down the small of his back. She had coated them in some sort of oil, instead of just plopping it on his skin to which he greatly appreciated. She ran the backside of her coated nails upwards along his muscles, pressing deeply to feel the knots that had built up, and then once at the top, drug the same nail tips down. The sensation was both aching and appealing at the same time, as she strummed each of his sore muscles, getting a feel of what she was up against.

“Oh yeah, you were long overdue for this.” She hummed as she switched back to her paw pads, pressing and kneading up and down his spine. He felt her place her fingers together, right at the middle of his back, “Take a deep breath for me,” she expressed softly. Michael exhaled deeply and took a long, deep breath in. He held it for a second, expecting something to happen, but when it didn’t, he exhaled again, and that’s when she struck. Pressing down on the focal point of her palm, Michael felt his back crack deeply. He had cracked his back before; in fact, it was almost a daily ritual for him at this point, but never had he felt it so strongly. The cracks radiated down to his kneecaps, the sharp pain of the pop, followed by almost a wave of euphoria, washed over him. However, he had little time to rest or collect himself, as her hands slid upwards slightly, and before he even finished his exhale, she pressed down again, and again, and again. Each time, there were deeper cracks and pops in his body, overpowering his senses and self-control as her hands settled at the base of his neck.

He could not help but to emit a deep, pleasurable groaning sound as she gave him a moment to bask in the feeling. “Yeah, men always make that sound when I’m done with them.” She flirted once again. Michael could do nothing but helplessly laugh at her advances.

The next hour continued just about the same as it started, with Clara focusing on a specific joint or muscle group, adjusting his limbs and joints with loud relieving cracking sounds, and then following it up with a tender muscular massage. His back, neck, hips, and wrists all cried in agony and elation by the time she was through with him. She had elevated his chair for him at the end of the session and called for a refill of his drink, ruffling his hair as she prepared to depart. “Call me again if you’re still feeling sore, Starfleet. I don’t usually do room service, but for you, I might make an exception.” She said as she blew a kiss in his direction.

Through the entire session, his mind had been so frazzled that he had not managed to get a good bead on her state of mind, but as she walked away, he called out, “I might take you up on that offer.” Lifting his Mai-tai in salute to her, he could not help but to pick up on the fleeting sense of temptation coming from her.

[To be continued]