by Alta Hensley
I danced until I reached the end of the song. I stopped as the sound of the final beat echoed against the walls and high ceiling.
When the music faded completely, all I could hear was the sound of my pulse rushing in my ears. I knew that Victor had watched my every move, but I didn’t pay attention to that fact. Nor the fact that I actually danced the song all the way through which Allen had yet to allow me to do without his constant criticism.
“That was beautiful,” he said quietly. “You captured my vision completely.”
I snapped my head up to look at him and found his eyes and expression soft. “Really?”
“Yes. That is exactly what I wanted. The purpose of my dolls is show that on the surface of so many things everything appears so perfect, but hidden beneath—if you really look—there are so many flaws. I like my dolls stiff, hollow, hard. Just like a shield. But if you break that shield. Crack the plastic. You’ll see what really is lurking underneath. Your dance provided the few peeks needed to see the flaws underneath the flawless outer protection. Bravo,” he added, making me blush at the compliment.
“I want to see you dance to another song I was considering adding to the lineup. I want you to approach this piece with fire in your heart and ice on your mind. You need to have passion, but you also need to focus and concentrate. I can see you get lost in the music, but then you lose focus on the skill. No doubt Allen’s frustration.”
“You want me to just dance? With no choreography?”
Victor nodded. “As a doll. You know the poses. You know what is in the other pieces and how I have positioned them all to fit my vision. Combine all of those positions. Feel the music. Use those overpowering senses you spoke of and allow them to take over. I want to see what happens when you do.”
I nodded as I watched Victor change the music and start a song I hadn’t heard yet. It was still hip-hop in nature but also had eerie and haunting voices singing in the background—almost operatic. The song alone had the power to give me chills, but I couldn’t help but feel Victor’s burning gaze sear my skin and my hands grew a little shaky as I tried to find the right doll moves for the song. I wanted so badly to give the song and Victor’s vision justice.
Victor walked over to where I stood as I awkwardly tried to position my body to the beat of the music. He gently placed his hands over mine from behind me, and I wanted to jump back. His hands felt like fire burning the backs of my hands, and his chest against my back scorched my flesh. He leaned forward, our faces inches apart, and I did everything to keep from turning my head to look at him.
Carefully, Victor guided my hands up and down to the beat, manipulating his perfect little doll in the positions he desired. His breath thick against my ear, he swayed his body, pulling mine along with his.
“Blank emotion. Blank thoughts. Again, picture yourself a cover up. Perfect exterior but nothing but darkness inside. Get in the right head space, Ivy, and the rest will come naturally. Being a doll is about showing off the pretty face only to cover up the hidden secrets inside.”
When we reached the end of the song, he stood back and returned to the loveseat he’d been sitting on, leaving me in a daze. All I could focus on was the heavy aroma of his essence.
“Now you try,” he prompted, nodding at me.
I chewed on my lower lip, but launched into the dance slowly once the music that was on repeat started again, pulsing at the beats and fumbling in a few places. As I progressed through the song, making mistake after mistake, I wondered if he would yell at me like Allen would.
Finally, I reached the end of the chilling song and took a step back, the tears already burning the backs of my eyes. I awaited his outburst. I really had felt the music. My senses hummed and zinged through every nerve ending, but I actually welcomed the sensation.
But nothing harsh came from Victor’s mouth. All he did was lean forward to rest his elbows on his knees and say, “Very nice. It is rough around the edges, but with polish, you’ll have a jewel. That needs to be your solo piece for Japan.”
I blinked, hoping he wouldn’t notice the tears in my eyes, and I let out a long breath. “You think so? Wouldn’t another doll be able to do this better?”
“I see exactly what I want to see,” he said with a warm smile. “I can see how the music enters your body and gives you a light in your shadowed eyes. Big doll eyes with so much depth behind them. The music and morbid movements of your innocent form lights you, but I can still see the hidden secrets present. It’s perfection. Purity yet tainted. Art. Very few can capture an artist’s vision, but you just did.”
I stared at the ground. The intimate softness of his voice unnerved me.
“I don’t want you in the other performance,” he declared. “For that one to work, all the dolls must be completely in sync. But not this one. This one is about you allowing your senses to control you. Finally give them the power rather than squashing them with drugs.”
I sighed in relief. “So do I show Allen this dance? Or will you?”
“I’ll let Allen know what’s going to happen.” He stood up and made his way toward where I stood. “From now on, you’ll have your dance training with me. I would hate for Allen’s method of choreography to extinguish that special something I see in how you perform the song.” He moved a piece of my hair off my shoulder. “That’s enough for today.”
I nodded and walked over to my water bottle to take a long and needed drink. Awkwardly, I wiped at my mouth and smiled. “Thank you, sir. I would enjoy that.”
Victor barely smiled, but it was enough to send the heat rushing to my face. “I’ll see you tomorrow when we leave in my jet for Milan. When we return, you and I will get together to work on it further and to get the lighting and costume right.” He nodded toward the door. “Go shower and get some rest. You did good today. Really good. But tomorrow will be busy as we leave for Milan. The next couple of days are going to fly by really fast and can be exhausting.” He nodded toward the door again. “So go rest up. You’ll need it.”
With that, I practically ran out of the large room. As soon as the door shut behind me, I allowed myself to take a few gasping breaths. I held my hands up in front of me to see them shaking a bit, and I grasped them firmly to ease the tremble. Finally, I leaned against the wall, grinning in pure happiness.
Victor captured my breath, my heart, my soul. There was something about his dark eyes that sent me swooning, and his voice was deep and methodical.
“Ivy…”
I whipped around to see Victor standing in the doorway with his hand out. “You forgot your bag.”
My eyes widened, embarrassed. I rushed to meet him and took my bag from his hand. “Thank you.”
“I’ll see you soon,” he said as he retreated back into the dance room.
All I could do was nod.
A small smile pulled at the corner of his lips, and he shut the door.
I took a calming breath to steady my nerves, and I stumbled down the hallway to join The Dollhouse with my senses alive.
Finally, I felt alive.
Chapter Twelve
Victor
Nervous wouldn’t be the right word to describe how I felt as we were about to open the doors to the Villa di Brera Gallery in Milan. Many would be, and definitely should be considering the price people paid to see the dolls, but I never was. Nervous was just not an emotion I was capable of having. Edgy and excited would be more fitting to describe the sensations coursing through me as I stood ready to make my grand entrance as I introduced the dolls. Like all the galleries I chose to exhibit in, Villa di Brera was known for allowing artists who had sexual elements in their art to show there with zero limitations. But I had no doubt in my mind, the patrons of this gallery had never seen anything like what I would be presenting with the showing of my dolls this evening.
Tonight wouldn’t be at the same level of taboo as I had planned for Japan, but I was most certain that, by the end of the exhibit, many would be leaving and talking about Vi
ctor Drayton and his dolls for weeks, if not months, from now.
“Ready?” Allen asked, as he walked up to my side. “The doors have been opened, and they’re filling the room now.”
The hum of energy from the other side of the door that opened to the gallery told me that we had a full house already. I didn’t want them milling around for long, but decided to allow the anticipation to build for a few more moments. Right now, the guests were staring at nothing but red curtains surrounding the room. White walls, red curtains, dim lights, and nothing else. I was sure they were all anxious to see what was on the other side of the blood-red fabric.
Taking a few moments, I straightened my tie, pulled down my vest, ran my fingers down the buttons, and nodded. “Let’s do it.”
I motioned toward the audio visual man we hired for the event to let him know it was time to begin the show by shutting the lights off completely. Nothing but complete darkness.
A canvas of black waiting for me to create my art.
A tiny voice over the surround sound speakers broke through the hum of whispering guests. So soft was the voice. So delicate. So sweet.
The voice of a doll.
“Fuck and drink. Fuck and drink. Only fuck and drink,” the doll chanted throughout the room.
Silence.
Darkness.
“Fuck and drink. Fuck and drink. Only fuck and drink.”
Silence.
Darkness.
Then massive bass boomed from the speakers all around. So loud and so powerful that I knew the guests of the gallery could feel the vibration rattle their teeth.
Silence.
Darkness.
“Fuck and drink. Fuck and drink. Only fuck and drink.”
A burst of bright light hit as I entered the room. The spotlight centered on me with nothing but flashing lights and shadows all around.
A deep twisted version—laced with venom and crazy undertones—of the delicate voice of before called out from the speakers, “Fuck and drink, motherfuckers. Fuck and drink. Only fuck and drink, or fucking die!”
Silence.
Darkness.
Another burst of light and the red curtains dropped. Dolls were posed to perfection as all the spectators stared on in disbelief.
The twisted and insane voice of before called out in a hypnotic tone, “Drayton’s Dolls. Drayton’s Dolls. Drayton’s Dolls.”
Finally, the music started and the dolls began the show as they manipulated their bodies into haunting and creepy figurines.
I entered the room, raised my glass of scotch I was holding in my hand to everyone, and nodded as my silent way of saying that the exhibit was now theirs to explore. “Fuck and drink,” I said loudly. “Fuck and drink, and enjoy.”
The guests applauded, and I could see that the intro had completely captivated all. The evening was just beginning, but I had already won over the room. Now it was the dolls’ turn to do their part.
Like all my exhibits, I spent the first hour doing nothing more than greeting the patrons and answering questions. In the beginning, the onslaught of complete strangers approaching me used to be overwhelming, but I had grown to accept it was all part of being Victor Drayton the artist. Eventually, the crowd of people all wanting to meet me would dissipate enough so that I would be able to step away long enough to go and observe my dolls in action. I always wanted to see that everything was going off as I had envisioned, and tonight was no different.
Breaking away, I grabbed another scotch from the bar, and found Allen across the room.
He was the first to speak as I approached him. “The show is running perfectly. Every single doll is doing the exact same choreography. I couldn’t ask for more.”
Nodding, I glanced around the room. All the dolls were in their individual pieces acting out the art that was assigned. Tonight’s showing was by far my most sexual exhibit of all. Most pieces were borderline pornographic, but that was exactly what I wanted.
“How is the new doll doing?” I asked, scanning the room for her exhibit.
“Last I checked, nervous, a bit tense, but that adds to the look, so we are good.”
I took a sip of my scotch, inhaling as I did so. “Excuse me for a moment. I’m going to go see for myself.”
I walked past all the different dolls posed in extreme sexual poses. Some were half dressed. Some were even nude. I could see that the guests of the evening were fascinated with what they saw and the subtle moves of the dolls throughout the night. But I was only interested in seeing how my new doll was performing in her first show.
I walked up to the exhibit that Ivy was cast in and could see that the exhibit was a hit. It, by far, had the most spectators over all the others. Ivy had her hands placed on a toy box, bent over with two other dolls doing the same. Their eyes were wide open, and each of their pouty lips were stuffed with pink pacifiers. Each doll wore no bottom half. They had matching pink dresses, with curly pink ribbons hanging from their pigtails. Their butts were on full display with pink dildos pressed inside their anuses that matched the pacifier in their mouths. The three dolls were plugged in both ends. Pink Glitter fell from the sky above, raining magical sparkles on their ivory colored skin.
I watched her with the same fascination as everyone else. She remained completely still, inanimate in the best of ways. I couldn’t have asked for a better performing doll. But there was so much more as I watched her. She was beautiful, but she also was captivating. But as I glanced around at everyone as they watched her hold her pose on the toy box, a surge of jealousy washed over me.
I didn’t like that others could see her naked behind. I didn’t like knowing that others stared at the pink plug spreading her tight little hole. And I also didn’t like that on certain beats of the music that played, the dolls moved to another position, revealing her shaved pussy as she did so. Her bottom half was exposed to all, and I hated every second of it.
The other dolls being exposed didn’t bother me. Just Ivy. For some reason, I didn’t like sharing this doll.
“Victor?” Allen said, snapping me out of my growing jealousy that would have quickly grown to rage had I not been distracted. “Victor, I would like to introduce you to Mr. Renshaw. He is a gallery owner in Thailand and would like to discuss booking you. Do you have a minute to talk with him?”
I glanced one last time at Ivy, knowing I needed to walk away and focus on something else or risk the possibility of making a scene as I stormed up onto the platform and covered her nudity with my jacket.
“Yes, of course.” I walked away with my potential new client in tow, determined to not look at Ivy—my doll—for the remainder of the night.
Chapter Thirteen
Ivy
The culture, the friendship, and the bonds with the dolls had become my new way of life. As much as my life had become a dream in many ways, I still longed for more attention from Victor. I hadn’t seen him other than a quick passing since Milan. My curiosity to really get to know this mysterious man consumed my thoughts. I couldn’t help but wish to please, to submit, to succumb to his sexual desires in every way he wanted. I damn well lusted for the man after the small sampling of his dominance. I wanted to do anything… anything to be near him. It didn’t help that my body remained in a constant sexual haze from all the training. Anal plugs became a way of life. Masturbation wasn’t allowed—so the rules stated—but many snuck the release regardless. I still feared the consequences if I did. I knew there were cameras all around the house, and my luck would be me fingering myself right in front of a camera and getting fired from a job that I really enjoyed.
I had been on my best behavior until Janie came up with an idea after the day of grueling dance rehearsals was over. Janie, and a few other dolls, had decided to sneak out to the pool and wanted me to come. I hadn’t been to the pool since I had arrived, and the idea of the cool water soothing my aching muscles tempted me. I knew we weren’t allowed to go outside without permission, but the lure overtook any reason I should have h
ad. And besides, Victor wouldn’t fire all of us, but I still was nervous on what he would do if we purposely broke one of the rules.
“What if we get caught?” I asked in a whisper. Many of the other dolls were already turning in for a night of sleep, and I wondered if I should be smart like them and do the same.
“Then we get caught. It won’t be the first time you’ll get in some trouble while living here.” Janie giggled. “Who knows? Maybe you’ll like whatever discipline Victor comes up with. He likes to spank his naughty dolls.” Her giggle turned into a full-fledged laugh.
“I don’t want to be spanked by Victor or anyone as a form of punishment. The idea terrifies me, and does not turn me on.”
Janie shrugged. “It’s not so bad. I’ve had it done to me by Joseph, and well… I wouldn’t mind it again.” She reached for my hand. “Come on, we won’t get caught if we’re quiet. The other girls are waiting.”
I almost said no. The words were right at the tip of my tongue. My mind screamed for me to remain in the main room, but my heart and sore body really wanted to sneak off to the pool. What was the worst thing that could happen? The pool was still on the property, so it wasn’t like I was leaving the house really… not technically. I had to just ignore the order from Victor that we weren’t allowed outside and especially after dark. The pool had lights so it wasn’t really dark, I tried to reason.
I nodded and stood with Janie’s hand entwined with mine as I finally said, “Let’s go.” We joined the others waiting and snuck our way outside.
Hours were spent skinny dipping and laughing. The water, the warm air, and the starry sky made the risk worth whatever punishment lay in store—if we got caught.
Janie swam up and playfully splashed me. “Aren’t you glad you came?” she asked.
I smiled and nodded. “Yes, I’m glad you invited me.” As I watched the naked beauty float in the water before me, I decided to ask a question that had been on my mind for a while. “Janie, have you ever performed in one of the art exhibits that require more sexual elements? I heard Japan is going to be super kinky, and from what I’ve seen…”
