Author's Note:

Hello Readers and welcome to my new story!

'Convince Me' is set in Chicago during 1925 and the time of Prohibition. The story will alternate from Rose's POV to Dimitri's.

Rose Hathaway is a talented burlesque dancer for a club named 'The Royal Court' that her father owns. Abe Mazur's business took a severe hit on January 17, 1920, when the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors was made illegal.

However, when Abe is approached by the Russian Bratva to use his club to smuggle in and distribute illegal liquors, he couldn't pass up the offer to help keep his club and family afloat.

Five years into Prohibition, Dimitri Belikov is moved from Russia to the streets of Chicago to oversee operations at the Bratva's most profitable venue. During his first visit to meet Abe Mazur, he becomes infatuated with his daughter and lead dancer, Rose.

This story is rated M for language, drug/alcohol references, and sex scenes. I've attempted to keep the character as much in character as possible, but I also wanted to incorporate themes and terminology that were considered normal for the time period.

So please continue reading with caution.

Note: 'Miss Mazur' is still my main priority and I will continue to update the story once a week. Therefore, until I have finished 'Miss Mazur', this new story will be updated as often as I can without interrupting the flow of 'Miss Mazur'.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Richelle Mead. I own only the plot, nothing else.

-RCap

Rose.

I came to the club before opening purposely. I loved hearing our musicians tuning their instruments and improvising new chords while on the stage. The music would surge through me while I was on stage, purging me any unpleasant thoughts and replacing them with a feeling of bliss. I lived for that feeling.

The club was relatively large for an illegal bar during Prohibition. My father had purchased it when we moved over from Istanbul several years ago, relishing in the American's love for alcohol and making almost too much money off them drinking away their sorrows. He, however, needed a new plan when the new law came into effect, accepting the Russian Bratva's proposal to use the club as a front for transporting alcohol through Chicago.

I watched as my father talked with two unfamiliar faces in one of the corner booths. His normally hard features seeming intrigued by their words, whatever they were talking about seemed to please both my father and the unfamiliar men. I had been planning to see my father once I had arrived but decided not to interrupt the meeting.

I removed my hat and pale pink jacket revealing my navy dress and guided myself around assorted tables towards the bar at the far end. I caught sight of my favourite barman, Adrian. I perched on one of the stools and placed my right knee on my left and leaned forward, letting my nails tap on the hardwood. He was facing away from me, his attention on the stock stored behind him. I could hear him counting to himself and couldn't help but smile to myself.

Adrian Ivashkov was a good man, a little kooky if you ask me but he ensured that everything ran smoothly for my father. He was quite the sheik. He gained a decent amount of female attention and he dished it back out. He was nice and tall with a decent build and a pair of the most gorgeous deep green eyes you would ever find.

"Watcha counting Ivashkov?" I asked him in a singsong voice, my risen leg instinctively moving with the sounds of the band behind me. I removed a cigarette from my deck and tapped the butt on the wood before bringing it to my lips. I didn't light it, purely because I knew how much Adrian loved lighting a woman's cigarette. I held it with my teeth, allowing a small dab of my red lipstick to stain the paper.

I heard Adrian chuckle before turning to face me, "As always sweetheart, giggle water" he winked before scrawling a number on the pad in front of him. Once written down, he reached into his back pocket and produced a lighter.

"I didn't know the old man had you counting stock again, I thought you only did that once a month?" I asked once the cigarette was lit and I had taken a drag.

Once a month, my father had Adrian count our stocks so that we could give the numbers to Daniel who was in charge of our underground business. Something must have happened for him to be counting for the second time this month. I was curious as to if it coincided with the unfamiliar men my father was meeting with in the corner of the club.

"We have new members that will be taking over from Daniel, they have brought in some guys from Russia" Adrian smiled cunningly as he nodded to the booth behind me, "They are the replacements" his green eyes practically twinkling at the news. I don't know why he was so happy about it, Daniel was good at his job, and he was good fun to be around as well.

I turned my head to have a quick look at the men again and found my father to be escorting them over towards us. I watched as they came closer, not letting my eyes stray from them. While I was distracted, Adrian stole my newly lit cigarette from my fingers and took a deep drag before walking further down the bar. I rolled my eyes and gave my full attention to the men coming my way.

"Rosemarie" my father crooned, "Meet Ivan Zeklos and Dimitri Belikov" he smiled, gesturing beside him. I had to admit that the men stunned me; they were extremely pleasing to the eye.

I was silent as I took in their features. Both shared similar features like their well-muscled bodies and sculpted faces but they were complete opposites in everything else. Ivan had short but ruffled blonde hair and fairer skin while the one named Dimitri was much more my type. His chin-length hair was a dark shade of brown that matched his eyes, the light tan on his skin only a few shades lighter than my own colour.

Dimitri had definitely caught my attention, his bottomless brown eyes smoldered as I watched them rake over my body. I felt like shivering under his gaze.

I outstretched my right hand delicately and Ivan immediately captured it, I smiled winningly at him as he brought my knuckles to his lips where he pressed a soft kiss to them, "Rosemarie. A beautiful name for a beautiful woman" he smiled, his Russian accent thick as he spoke in English.

I smiled as he released my hand and Dimitri recaptured it this time, I caught the look that he passed onto Ivan though, a look of possession. I had to say that it was hot. I was used to men fighting over me, it's what happened when you were a dancer, but having two high standing members of the Russian Bratva trying to claim possession over you was exciting and created a tingle through me. He brought my hand to his mouth, much like Ivan had, however when his lips touched my skin it was like tiny shocks pulsating through me.

"Roza" he purred, his eyes not leaving mine this time. I think my breathing hitched at the sound of his voice and my newly appointed nickname. I was used to nicknames like 'baby' and 'sweetheart' but hearing my name in another language was intoxicating.

We stayed like that for several seconds before my father cleared his throat, bringing the attention back to himself, "Rosemarie is my only child, she is also the lead dancer at this establishment"

This seemed to catch Dimitri interest, his eyes returning to look at me and his lips turned up into a sly smile. I couldn't help but return the smile with my own little taunt, "I trust you will be by later tonight then?"

"I wouldn't dare miss it" he responded.

The club's serenity was shattered when the main doors opened loudly followed by the high-pitched sounds of laughter. A group of five women entered, removing their hats and walking towards the doors that lead backstage. The women were my fellow dancers and they had arrived for a pre-show practice.

The dancers were all very similar; tall and skinny with pale skin. It's what made me such a standout on stage. My middle-eastern features drawing a lot of attention being surround by women who were so pale. They all stopped in a group to look over at the bar where I was sitting, Lissa flashing me a cheeky smile and even winked at me. I was confused as to what elicited that reaction until I realized Dimitri still had my hand in his grasp.

"If you would excuse me, gentlemen," I purred as Dimitri assisted me down from the bar stool, "I will be seeing you later in the evening". I sauntered off towards the waiting dancers, adding a bit of extra swing into my hips as I could feel Dimitri's eyes burning holes in my back. I couldn't stop myself from relishing in the attention he was giving me though.

When I reached the group, my blonde haired best friend immediately intertwined her arm with mine and tugged me through the doors leading backstage. Most of the girls giggled as we walked, occasionally stealing glances towards the Russians who were now talking with Adrian.

We had a large array of dancers but the six that were assembled now were the clubs most popular. Lissa and her sister Jill were the epitomes of goddesses with their flawless skin and blonde hair, albeit Jill's hair was more on the brown side, however, their shared jade green coloured eyes were a clear indication of family and were entrancing. Sydney added to the long list of blondes that my father employed, she could have passed as another sister to Lissa except for her brown eyes, which seemed to have a glint of gold in them.

Avery and Natalie finished the group off, adding to the pale count but both of them had dark brown hair, which matched closer to mine and created a balance between us all.

The backstage area never changed, it was a room that was filled with mirrors and clothing racks that held our costumes. The lighting was dark and the smell of tobacco was thick in the air.

Lissa and I maneuvered around the different dressing tables until we reached our own; I hung my coat behind the chair and unbound my long hair from its tight confines. A majority of the dancers had cut their hair into shorter styles, however, I struggled to follow suit. I just couldn't bring myself to cut my long wavy locks; it had taken several years of care to maintain it at this length.

"So, who are the gentlemen by the bar?" Lissa asked from beside me, her green eyes twinkling much like Adrian's had in the reflection of her mirror.

I sat down in my chair and began to fix my makeup for practice, "They are the new supervisors for our importing and exporting division" I smiled, trying to use the most sophisticated wording possible. I didn't like referring it to 'rum-running', which it technically was, but I preferred it to sound more professional.

"I see," she chuckled, "They both seemed quite taken with you" this time she turned in her chair to look at me and I couldn't stop the smile that spread across my face.

"Did they?" I toyed, "I hadn't noticed" I fixed the red tint on my lips and went back to fiddling with my hair, arranging it so it wouldn't get in my way during practice.

Lissa eyed me curiously, her head cocking to one side and her eyes narrowed slightly, "Are they coming by tonight?" she asked.

I knew that she already knew what my answer would be; I had been playing with my hair, which I rarely did, and it showed that I was nervous or excited about something.

"They did say they would stop by" I mumbled as she sat back in her chair and clapped her hands together excitedly.

I had to admit that I was excited as well for tonight. I was excited to see Dimitri and for him to see me in my element. I knew that I could dance well and that I elicited a response from the crowd and I was interested to see if I could do the same to him.

Lissa and I stripped down to our undergarments and changed into our practice costumes, a simple black one-piece corset with black stockings. It was also somewhat of a uniform we wore when we weren't on stage. If we were going to wander on the floor between acts, we were to be dressed in something like this, not our extravagant costumes.

Once all six of us girls were assembled on stage, Tasha our choreographer emerged and began checking out stances and moves. Ensuring that our feet were positioned correctly, and our bodies moved with the music and not against it.

Tasha was an ex-dancer herself from my father's club. She was a very good dancer at that, however, her face was horribly scarred during a fight that erupted involving her nephew during the first year of Prohibition. The scarring meant that Tasha was not welcome on the main stage, it was a massive hit to her as well as all of us but unfortunately, people came to watch beautiful women dance and Tasha didn't fit in that category by their standards anymore.

Father didn't want her to leave the club though, she was apart of the family here, so he asked her to stay on as a choreographer as well as offering her nephew Christian a job behind the bar with Adrian.

So, for the past four years, Tasha has created and taught us several different dances and perfected our techniques. She was a strict teacher but she was extremely good at her job.

Once practice was over, we retired backstage and lounged around waiting for nightfall. Adrian and Christian came backstage, as they always did before opening, with a tray of moonshine and cigarettes.

We all took a glass each which was filled only with half a shot. We couldn't afford to be intoxicated on stage, but the moonshine gave us a nice edge along with the nicotine in the cigarettes. Adrian went around to all the ladies lighting up the butts and we all sat around laughing and sipping on our drinks.

Even though we were all considered criminals working in a speakeasy, we were a big family. We all looked out for one another and covered for each other if necessary. A lot of the women that danced here were saved off the streets or from families that were hit harder by the effects of Prohibition or the war. They had been unable to keep their heads above water like my father had done, so they were brought in and taken care of.

We were all sisters even if we weren't related. Most of us roomed together in apartments and we all shared our lives with one another. We all got along so well that there was never any beef inside the club's walls.

When night came and we began hearing the club fill up behind the curtains, Adrian and Christian returned to their bar and began the night off while us dancers got changed into our first costumes for the night.

The roaring sounds of men's laughter came close to overpowering the jazz from the band. We were used to having a full house almost every night. We were a prime establishment that a lot of men used for date locations and even business meetings.

Once we were all dressed up in our feathers and sequins, we lined up according to our positions and waited for the curtain to rise.

Waiting for the first curtain to rise was when I was most excited. Waiting for that first look was almost torture, both for the patrons and us dancers. We were excited to see what the crowd was like for us tonight and they were begging to see us, and like always we were greeted with whistles and chants from the crowd once displayed to them.

I looked out into the crowd and saw him immediately.

He was sitting at one of the larger tables, Ivan on his right and the other four seats were occupied by other members of the Bratva that we had seen here previously. His lips were curled into a sly smile and his hair had been tied at the nape of his neck. I watched his eyes travel the length of my body again as he attempted to keep his composure.

Ivan leaned closer to Dimitri and seemed to say something to him that wiped the smile off Dimitri's face, his head snapped towards Ivan and he glared at him too which Ivan only laughed.

As we danced the night away, Dimitri didn't stray his gaze from me. If I was on stage, he didn't look anywhere but at me. He conversed with the men at his table but didn't look at them when they spoke, only responded when spoken to.

After several hours of dancing, I was relieved that I only had the final performance left, leaving a couple of hours to myself. I changed out of the flashy costume and into my black corset. Swiping the deck of cigarettes out of my draw, I walked out into the seating theatre and headed to the bar to see my father. I strolled towards where he was seated, stopping a couple of times to converse with regulars that I had learned the names of.

When I made it to the bar, Adrian immediately placed a glass in front of me and lit my cigarette. My father lifted his head up from the club's books in front of him to acknowledge me.

"Kizim, wonderful show so far. You are entrancing the Russians" he laughed as he gestured to the table that had held my attention all night.

"So it may seem" I smiled back, taking a drag of the cigarette. I held in the smoke for a couple of seconds before blowing it away from us. I took in my surroundings and let my eyes wander over the crowd, finding Dimitri coming towards us. I think my heart actually skipped a beat as the 6'7 Russian approached me. The smoke coming from the cigarette that was between his fingers trailed behind him, adding to the thick smokiness of the room.

"Roza" he purred once he reached me, taking my hand again he placed a delicate kiss on my knuckles, "You are a sight I must say"

"I take that as you are enjoying the show, Mr. Belikov?" I purred back, relaxing my hand in his grip which allowed him to brush his thumb over my fingers.

"Yes, I can see why this establishment brings in the most business" he broke his gaze from me and turned to my father, "You have done an impressive job, Mr. Mazur"

"Much appreciated Belikov, it's always good to hear that we are keeping all parties involved ahead"

As my father and Dimitri discussed further business I caught sight of Christian behind the bar and whistled for his attention, his head snapped up at the sound and immediately found me leaning over the bar.

"Hey Sparky, you still stuck on Lissa?" I taunted from the other side of the bar, he didn't answer my question, he only hung his head and chuckled to himself.

Christian wasn't the kind of guy who my father normally employed. He was a tad antisocial and had a knack with a flame. His black hair and ice blue eyes made him one of the favorites among the dancers, but his eyes had always been set on Lissa. However, it didn't matter how many times I told him she was also interested in him, he didn't make any moves to pursue her. It was infuriating really; the kid is clueless.

I was now perched up on my knees on the stool laughing along with him as we battled back and forth with friendly slurs and insults. It was good that we had a friendship like that, we both didn't take life too seriously. I could see out of the corner of my eye one of the not so friendly regulars making a beeline for me, maneuvering through the people standing but stumbling as he went, too drunk to walk properly. I cringed just at the thought of him coming near me, hoping that he would bypass me, but he never does.

"Rosie" he slurred as he came up behind me. I turned in my stool to face him,

"Good evening Ralf" I forced out, my eyes quickly darted to Dimitri's who was now very interested Ralf coming up for a chat. He was still talking to my father, but his attention was entirely on Ralf now, and he did not look happy.

"Rosie, why don't you join us for a drink?"

The chance of me joining Ralf and his table for drinks was slim to none, I had no interest in being drooled on or manhandled. I was used to dewdroppers fighting for my attention, but I wasn't planning to give them the time of day.

"Sorry Ralf, I'm needed back on stage soon" a bit of a lie I'll admit, but normally it works.

This time it didn't however, Ralf reached out and gripped my upper arm with amazing strength for someone who was so drunk. He came in close to my face so I could smell the amount of hooch on his breath. It was disgusting at the least. My cigarette dropped to the floor as a reaction from him grabbing my arm, damn it hurt.

He was soon pulled off me and pushed from the bar, my saviors being six members of the Bratva, they all stood in front of me in the form of a line, Dimitri with his arm slightly towards me in a protective gesture.

"Go chase yourself!" my father boomed from his chair, "The dancers or my daughter are not to be touched. You hear me son?"

I watched as Ralf sized up the six Russians standing before him, almost like he was considering taking them on. He looked towards my father who had a cruel look on his face; this wouldn't go down well if he chose to stay.

He eventually scowled and stumbled off into the crowd, no one moved through. Dimitri flicked his head in the direction Ralf walked in and two of the members of the line followed him. It was often that the dancers would be grabbed as such, but we had to rely on the men that we worked with to control them. If we took matters into our own hands, it could turn out worse for us.

We didn't need coppers coming down on us for a dancer assaulting a patron no matter how much they deserved it. It was too risky with the rum-running. So, we let either the Russian's stationed in the club or even Christian and Adrian to deal with them.

"How do we keep letting him in here?" I spat to my father as I rubbed the spot where Ralf had latched onto me. My father merely shrugged and went back to his books.

I turned to Dimitri and placed a tentative hand on his bicep, giving it a soft squeeze before speaking, "Thank you for that" I smiled up at him before reaching for my deck on the bar.

"Anytime milaya" he answered softly, placing his own hand on top of mine. It felt so warm to have him touch me like that. It was comforting at the same time as it was like lighting a fire within me. I didn't know what milaya meant, but I damn sure liked the sound of it.

He wrapped one of his arms around my waist and lifted me off the stool and placed me back on the ground, I noticed my father looking briefly up from his book to take a peek at us before muttering something to himself.

"Come backstage when the final dance is over, I think you should all meet the other dancers" I smiled before looking at the other Russians behind Dimitri. They all nodded, and I strolled back towards the stage, daring a glance behind me to see Dimitri with a smile on his face and Ivan nudging his shoulder playfully.

The smile on his face was different than the other ones he had given me. He had given me sly and attractive smiles, ones that made me go gooey inside, this one was a genuinely happy smile and it made me unconsciously smile just as big.

Dimitri was sitting at my dressing table reading a book when we all began retiring backstage. I chuckled to myself before sneaking up behind him. Placing my hands on his wide shoulders I looked at him through the reflection and let my lips curl into a sweet smile. He looked up from his book and returned my smile.

The darkness of the area around us created a nice shadow for our figures in the reflection, the only lighting the hanging lights that were placed randomly throughout the room.

As I let my eyes wash over his reflection I couldn't help but linger on lips as well as the bulge of his muscles under the pale blue fabric of his dress shirt.

I so badly wanted to see what lied behind the confines of his clothing. You could see he was a well-muscled man and it was teasing me. Was it wrong of me to be having extremely explicit thoughts about a man I had only just met, as well as one who was involved in the Bratva?

I didn't care honestly.

I walked around the chair and let my hand trail across his shoulders and behind his neck until I was standing in front of him. I was curious as to why he was so infatuated with me. He had taken a liking to me almost instantaneously and hadn't even looked at any of the other dancers. It wasn't like the Bratva to take their pickings from my father's club; they seemed to branch out to get their women.

"I'm curious Dimitri" I began in a low voice, "Why is that you have taken such a liking to me?"

His smile didn't falter when he answered, "Well Roza, I just can't seem to take my eyes off you. Something radiates from you that just draws me closer and closer. I'm not sure if it's your unmistaken beauty or the way you handle yourself. I may just be curious as to what kind of woman you are" his words were intoxicating, his accent making me weak at the knees.

I reached around and grabbed the flimsy dressing gown, using it to cover myself before turning back to Dimitri. I wasn't sure if it was the fact that he had referred to me as beautiful or his accent that was causing my reaction. I was trying really hard to not throw myself at him.

"So you think I'm beautiful?" I asked softly.

He smiled up at me and snaked an arm around my waist, pulling me down to him so that I was sitting on his lap, his face mere inches from my own, "So beautiful it hurts".

My tongue darted out and wet my bottom lip before my teeth captured it; I looked from his eyes down to his lips as both of us slowly began closing the distance between us.

"Banks closed Belikov" a voice interrupted.

I groaned and my head fell backward in frustration. I looked back up to see Pavel, my father's best friend and business partner leaning up against the doorframe. Such a buzz kill.

"Only the banker can close the bank Pavel," I grumbled as I got off Dimitri's lap, he followed shortly after, standing slightly behind me.

"I'm not sure Abe would be very pleased with you chasing his daughter Belikov" Pavel grunted, crossing his arms over his chest defensively.

Pavel was the same age as my father, he was much taller than him but they shared the same colour hair and skin colour. They could probably pass off each other as brothers if they wanted to.

"My father doesn't have a say in matters this personal Pavel, you know that," I said strongly, crossing my own arms in front of my body.

"We'll see" he chuckled before turning away. As he walked out, the dancers began strolling in followed by the other members of Dimitri's table.

We all changed into our normal attire and returned to the main area on the club, which was now empty and closed off. We push a few tables together and we all sat around.

Adrian and Christian joined us, placing a few bottles of Russian Standard Vodka on the table, courtesy of the Russians, along with enough glasses to be used between all of us.

Within a couple of hours, the entire contents of all four bottles were completely drunk dry. Everyone was a drunken mess. We were all stumbling over our words and shouting at each other. The laughter was deafening and the cloud of cigarette smoke that surrounded us was thick and menacing. I had ended up in Dimitri lap again as he laughed loudly, his words switching from English to Russian too often to keep track of, the mix of the languages causing an even bigger uproar of laughter.

Despite the drunken festivities, Dimitri continued to draw soft and controlled circles on my lower back. He never stopped no matter how hard he was laughing.

With me sitting on his lap, we were at the same level and I was able to look him directly in the eyes. As I stared drunkenly into his bottomless brown eyes, he tightened his hold on me and pressed a kiss to where my jaw and ear connected. He pulled back and continued his conversation with Ivan, his hold not wavering.

I wasn't sure what this was, but I was definitely interested as to where it was going.

Author's Note:

Hi All,

There you have chapter one for Convince Me! I was really excited when I got the idea for this story and I hope this chapter has got you interested!

I'd love to hear your thoughts on it xx

- RCap