I don't own Chuck. Actually, I don't own much of anything.

I'm not really un-retiring… not yet anyway. This is not new content. In fact, it is almost ten years old.

This was a sequel to The Real Relationship.

Look, I get that interest in things Chuck has waned. That's as it should be. So, while I'd always love to hear from you, I'm not doing this for hits or reviews. I'm doing this for me. Hopefully you can enjoy it as well.

Only Bet What You're Willing to Lose

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Chuck's head was whirling with emotions sitting in the back seat of Casey's car as it traveled down I-15 towards Las Vegas. Everything had happened much too fast this morning for him to process. He fully understood that this was a very serious situation. He knew Beckman well enough to know that she would never take her best team out of commission, possibly for weeks, without there being a major risk. A Fulcrum Elder was out there someplace. He knew Sarah by sight, knew her name and history, and had every reason to want revenge. They had won a major victory the other night… but who knew what resources he could still command? If she fell into his hands… that's as far as he wanted to think about it.

On the other hand, he was having a good time. This was the vacation they so desperately needed. He was free from having to worry about the Buy More or any responsibilities for a couple of weeks. The Vegas Strip was one of his favorite places, the party capital of the world. Even the professional spies agreed that it was the perfect place to hide. Everyone was a stranger when on vacation.

This morning had been a wild blur. Probably the biggest thing was Sarah talking to Ellie. It was huge. That would be something that would be very hard for her. It would have never happened just a few days ago. She was really trying. He made a mental note to tell her how proud he was first chance he got. Of course, Sarah asking for permission to marry him was one of those gender reversal things that seemed to define their relationship. She probably didn't even realize it.

Regardless, Ellie knowing made it official. It was the first time this didn't seem like just a good dream. This was real. He was going to marry this blonde goddess… maybe very soon. Better yet, said blonde goddess felt like an angel as she snuggled into his shoulder. Carina had already said that the risk was low. It seemed likely that if Fulcrum was going to attack, it would have already happened. If the CIA didn't even know where they were going, how could Fulcrum find them? Carina probably didn't know the entire situation, but even Sarah and Casey seemed very relaxed. That was the kicker. Sarah was the one who was most tense in these situations. If she was okay, maybe it was time to send Fulcrum a thankyou card and just enjoy this windfall.

About half way to Las Vegas they stopped for gas. Sarah followed Carina into the ladies room. "Carina?" Sarah asked. "What's up with you and Casey?"

Of course, Chuck wasn't the only one who could play dumb. "What do you mean?" Carina asked.

Sarah put her hands on her hips in mock anger. "Give me a break," she said. "You know damn well what I mean. Why have you been sticking around these past few days? You've had your head on his shoulder for two hours now. You're famous as a world class man eater. You're not messing with his head, are you? You do realize that he finds you incredibly sexy?"

"I'm sorry," Carina said sarcastically. "I didn't realize you were his mother. I'll confess, mom. My intentions aren't all that honorable. John's a big boy. He can take care of himself. I promise not to break his heart. What is this really? Are you jealous?"

Carina had just dropped the big one. "Eww," Sarah protested. "I'm just looking out for my partner. He would be very susceptible to the man eater. So I hope you know what you're doing. I can't afford to have a love sick partner. He already has one."

Of course, once they got back in the car, her warnings made zero difference. If anything Carina was snuggling even closer to Casey than before. Sarah didn't want to know what her hand, that had clearly found its way into his lap, was doing. Hopefully, he wouldn't wreck the car. But that was Carina. Why fight it and allow her childishness to ruin this good mood? And Carina wasn't the only one with a hand. Chuck jumped a little when he realized that the hand running up his thigh wasn't stopping… but he also knew that resistance when Sarah was making a point was futile. And what she was doing could never be called torture. Sarah just flashed him a sly look, buried her head even deeper into Chuck's neck, and let out a contented sigh.

Just as they were crossing the Nevada state line, Carina picked her head up from Casey's shoulder. "Sarah?" she asked. "What's your favorite thing to do in Las Vegas?"

Sarah paused to consider the question. She had driven through here on assignments a couple of times. It was a routine place for long term seduction missions. She had heard all of the wild stories. The marks always wanted their half-dressed eye candy on their arm in the casino… and then on their back in the hotel. But she had never been on that kind of assignment. This was one time where Chuck was going to get an honest first from her. The truth was, she was looking forward to it. "I've never been to Las Vegas before," she answered. "Not really."

Chuck clearly wasn't expecting that answer. "What?" he asked with a surprised look. "You mean that Bryce never took you here? Vegas is one of his favorite places. He used to drag me here all the time."

The sudden icy look on Sarah's face told Chuck that he had just made a serious mistake.

Indeed, Carina jerked her head towards Chuck. "How do you know Bryce?" she asked.

Sarah took her hand away. She now had to clean this up… nothing off-color intended. She broke their embrace and sat up. "Carina," she said. "Chuck knows Bryce from before he became an agent. They were old college friends. That's all I can say."

Carina didn't press it. "Okay," she said and returned her head to Casey's shoulder.

Chuck knew that she was pissed. Her body language said that very plainly. He leaned over to whisper in her ear. "Sorry," he said. "Please don't cut me off".

Sarah was annoyed, no sense in denying that. Carina knew better than to ask, but his mistake definitely had started her thinking. He simply had to start being more careful about these things. But one thing was for sure. He wasn't getting cut off. In fact she was counting the minutes before they were in their room and she could start ripping his clothes off. Maybe she could even parlay his guilt into performing her favorite thing a time or two. So she smiled at him and shook her head slightly to reassure him that everything was okay.

Chuck was relieved. He was expecting her to take his head off. He was so relieved that he decided to turn the tables. "Well maybe I'll cut you off," he teased.

Sarah couldn't keep in the wet laugh. Her hand had just been in his lap. Unless he was hiding some hard object in his pants, he was plainly counting those same minutes. She started giggling at the silliness.

That laughing got Carina's attention. She turned quickly to Sarah. "What's so funny?" she asked.

Sarah was still giggling. "Chuck thinks that he is going to cut me off," she said.

That got Chuck's attention. Her tone struck a nerve. "What's so funny about that?" he asked.

Sarah was still giggling. "Please," she said, intentionally drawing out the single word to about twenty syllables. "There is no way you could cut me off. I could seduce you anytime I wanted to. It was true that first day in the Buy More, and it's just as true today."

Chuck did a double take at her so overtly making fun of him. "A little too full of yourself aren't you?" he asked. "I mean, you are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen and everything. I am head over heals in love with you. But I think I could resist you for a few days if I had to."

Sarah just shook her head and continued giggling. "You're so cute," she said. "You really believe that, don't you? You couldn't last one day. I could have you begging me in a couple of hours. You do realize I'm a trained seductress?"

Now Chuck was on the edge of being annoyed. "Come on," he whined. "So is Carina and I resisted her. What's the difference? I think that you might be underestimating me a little."

Sarah didn't back down an inch. "We are headed to Vegas," she said mischievously. "Wanna make a little bet?"

The last thing that Chuck wanted was to bet on something like that. But he had just been challenged. "What did you have in mind?" he asked.

Sarah was still laughing. "Here's the deal," she said. "It's about noon. I'll seduce you before eight tonight. I can't touch you uninvited below the waist for that time but everything else is fair game. If you have any kind of orgasm within those eight hours, I win. If you can resist me for that time, you win."

Chuck considered her proposal. Her hand already had him on fire. He wasn't really crazy about waiting for eight minutes, much less eight hours. But she had him backed into a corner. He really couldn't back down now. "What do I win?" he asked.

Sarah finally stopped laughing. "Two things,' she said. "I'll buy you that X-box game you've been slobbering over. And for one full day, we'll put our engagement on hold. I'll show you how an agent keeps a mark happy. When we're in public, I'll get half-dressed and hang on your arm all night with a doe eyed look on my face. When we get back to the room, it will be all about you in every detail. I know you're too shy to ask for things, so I'll even take charge and give you some things you'd never ask for."

"I thought that you didn't have sex on missions," Chuck protested. "What are the rules?"

"I don't," Sarah answered. "You'll be the first. You should be happy. You aren't getting many firsts from me, and even fewer from Agent Walker. There aren't any rules. Don't worry about it. You're not going to win anyway."

Chuck had about enough of being made fun of. "And what if you win?" he asked.

"Similar deal," Sarah said. "When I win, your X-box gets donated to charity. The night will be all about me in every detail. I expect your full and enthusiastic participation. Still no rules. I think you already know one thing that I'm going to demand, pretty much all night. But there are also some other things I'm considering that will be new. Fair warning. I'm really looking forward to this."

"Deal," Chuck said.

Sarah took the smile from her face and got serious. "Let's put something on the table," she said. "I've never treated you like a mark before… even during those first few days when technically you were one. I'm happy now that I never did. You and I are in a good place right now. It took us a long time and a lot of pain to get here. I don't want to do anything to mess that up. This isn't worth that. It's only a game. But it's also now a mission. I think you know me well enough to know what that means. Until it's over, you're not my fiancé. You're my mark. I actually think, now that we're together, it will do you some good to experience being a mark for once. You always envied them. You need to understand how silly that is. When you experience it once, you'll know the difference between hot sex and making love. I think you'll agree with me that we're the lucky ones. Be warned. As a trained agent, a graduate of Seduction School, I'm going to find your weakness, and then I'm going to exploit it. I'll do anything, fair or unfair, to complete my assignment. And when I win, I'm going to collect my winnings in full. Please don't do this if it's going to mess you up… even a little bit. That's the last thing I would want."

Chuck was now officially annoyed. Her confidence was irritating. Like he couldn't resist her for eight hours. "Agreed," Chuck said. "I've always wanted to know about seduction missions. I've also something to put on the table. I may not be quite as shy about wild sex as you're being led to believe. After I win, don't be surprised if I give Agent Walker some tasks she might not anticipate. I would expect the same enthusiasm from you. Don't agree if you're not willing to smile and pay off."

That got Sarah grinning again. Like Chuck would ever demand wild things from her in bed. It might be exciting if he would sometime. The next time they made one of these bets, she'd plan on losing on purpose… just to see what he'd ask for… but not this time. Hot wild sex was okay. Making love was life changing. Hot wild sex with someone you loved? Wow. "Take your best shot," she said. "I love this bet. I win either way. Like I said, the rules are, there aren't any rules."

The front seat occupants were enjoying this conversation very much. "I think I might want a piece of that action," Casey called over his shoulder. "My boy here can hold out for eight hours as long as he knows that it's coming. I mean, he resisted Carina."

Carina shook her head. "No way," she said with a grin. "First, he isn't in love with me. And second, he was seriously thinking about it. He'll never see her coming."

"I have faith in my boy," Casey insisted.

Of course Casey was driving. So he couldn't see that Sarah was already pulling her bra out thru the arm of her blouse. With that extra button popped, she was showing some major cleavage. It really didn't matter all that much because her blouse hid very little of her shape anyway.

Sarah was grinning from ear to ear. "I'd like you to meet my two secret weapons," she said as she pressed her chest against his arm. "Actually the high beams are a first for me on an assignment. Too bad, being aroused like I am now would have really helped me get through some of them. Wanna touch them? Most marks do. It's pretty much considered a right."

Chuck shook his head. He couldn't get over the transformation. Of course he had seen her breasts up close and personal many times. Just a few hours ago, they were in bed together naked. She currently wasn't close to being naked. Yet he was looking at, by far, the sexiest sight of his life. It suddenly hit him. Sarah was always a beautiful woman. But when she wanted to, she could turn into a molten sex goddess. This was going to be a long eight hours. But he'd already had his fill of being underestimated. He was a normal male. He had his fair share of unfulfilled fantasies. She was asking for it. When he won, he was going to surprise her… and fulfill some.

Sarah's grin didn't fade a bit. "Maybe later," she taunted. "Wait until we're alone in our hotel room necking. My money says you'll waste little time making it to second base. I've never shared a room with a mark before. That might get interesting. Agent Walker has some nice things that she'd like to show you."

Yup, this was going to be a very long eight hours.

Carina couldn't help but laugh at the look on Chuck's face. She turned back to Casey. "Okay," she said. "Here's what I propose. You've got Chuck and I've got Walker. We make the same bet… minus the stupid video games."

"Carina," Casey said with a grin as the blush crept into his neck.

"You have a bet."

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There was a thing about Vegas. In the desert you could see the skyline of the hotels on the strip before you were at all close. After staring at them for an hour, actually getting there was fairly anticlimactic. Naturally, traffic on the strip was wall to wall. When they were stopped at a traffic light, Casey looked to the back seat. "You're the Vegas expert," he said. "Where should we stay?"

Chuck considered the question. He had only been here as a poor college student and even poorer Buy More worker. The hotels on the strip were amazing palaces. On the rare occasions that they won enough so that Jill allowed them to spend the night, it was always at one of the much cheaper places far off the strip. But he couldn't picture Sarah ever staying at one of those dives. He also discovered that he really didn't know much about her financial situation. CIA agents assuredly made more money than Buy More employees. But how much more? He had really never seen her spend any. "That depends," he said. "How much money do we have?"

Sarah laughed. She wasn't ready to have the discussion about her trust fund. She wanted to wait until they were actually married before breaking the news to him that they were rich. When she made these identities, she was going for a well to do couple. This was technically a mission. She'd get reimbursed for anything they spent to protect their cover anyway. "Do you really think that Agent Walker would be assigned to seduce a mark who wasn't loaded?" she teased. "She's been saving her mission cherry for just this opportunity. Chuck Anderson is very rich. In your wallet you have a debit card for walking around money. It has a balance of over a hundred grand. The PIN is Ellie's birthday. You also have a couple of credit cards with very liberal spending limits. Don't worry about money. Wine and dine your new blonde conquest in the manner she's accustomed to. That's what marks always do. They always think that flashing around big money is the way to get the blonde's panties around her ankles. Spoiler alert. It will definitely work for you."

Chuck shook his head. She wasn't going to let this go. He understood that she wasn't kidding at all. Fortunately, he only had about seven hours to go and this would be over. So he might as well play his part. "Let's go to the Bellagio," he said. "I've never been able to afford it but it is crazy nice. It's the perfect place for the classy Agent Walker to give up her mission cherry… among other things… after I win. They probably don't have stripper poles… but we'll make do."

That got them all laughing. Since there was no objection, Casey didn't hesitate. The valet took the car and left them standing in front of the hotel. "One problem," Chuck said. "These fancy places require a reservation. We don't have one. I highly doubt that there are going to be any rooms available."

Sarah grinned at him. "You're so cute," she said. "Would you like to make another bet? I think that Carina and I have this one covered."

Chuck shook his head. "I'm probably not going to survive winning this first one," he said.

Sarah was still grinning. "We'll see," she said. "Why don't you and Casey wait in the casino for a few minutes? We'll come and find you once we've checked in."

It sounded like a reasonable plan. Chuck allowed Casey to lead him into the casino. He found a couple of slot machines that had a strategic view of the lobby and sat down. Casey turned to Chuck with a smile. "I want you to be prepared," Casey said. "She's not kidding a bit. She's going to throw everything she has at you tonight. I'm talking lingerie, erotic stories, who knows what else? You've challenged her. And you know what she's like when she is challenged?"

Chuck laughed. "No problem," he said. "I mean it's only six more hours. I wanted her for six months without any luck. I think I can handle six hours."

"Don't underestimate her," Casey warned. "I know Agent Walker a lot better than you do. She has tricks up her sleeve. She wouldn't have pressed this hard without a plan that she thinks will work. I am counting on you. I really, really want to win that bet."

Just then the girls walked up. "Any luck?" Chuck asked.

Sarah turned her grin towards him and extended her hand. "Here's your room key," she said.

That got them all laughing. "Do I want to know how you got this?" Chuck asked playfully.

"It was really all your doing," Carina explained. "Without her bra, once Agent Walker pointed her high beams at him, it was over. He fell all over himself finding us rooms. I have to learn how to do that on demand. It's an amazing weapon."

Sarah was still laughing. "Not only rooms," she bragged. "Suites. Carina's right. You turning on my high beams made all the difference. I should have taken you on all my assignments." Finally she stopped laughing. "Why don't we go up and get settled? In a few minutes you and Casey can come back down and play a little blackjack. I think that Carina and I want to lie down for a few minutes so I'll be rested."

"Then maybe I can win my bet before we all go to dinner together?"

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