Ninja Girl
by Cookie O’Gorman
Genre: YA Contemporary Romance
Release Date: March 30th 3017
Summary from Goodreads:
Seventeen-year-old Snow-Soon Lee kicks ass–literally. She teaches at her family-owned martial arts gym, The Academy, and cares more about training to be the next Bruce Lee than hooking up. In fact, Snow’s never even been kissed. But when Girls Night rolls around, Snow decides to prove to her friends (and herself) that she’s not just some boring tomboy. Impulsively, she kisses a hot stranger and even manages to escape his two security guards.
One stolen kiss…
Ash Stryker’s senior year sucks. His politician father pulled him out of Chariot High, separating him from his championship-winning soccer team. Now he’s stuck at a prissy private school with no friends, no team and no chance of being scouted. On top of that, thanks to the death threats his dad’s received, Ash has a security tail aka professional babysitters. When the mystery girl from the movies shows up at his school, rappelling from the rafters, Ash knows one thing: he won’t let her get away again.
One interesting job proposition…
After a seemingly random attack, Ash’s mother surprises everyone. She hires Snow to be Ash’s personal bodyguard until after the election. But can Snow’s kick-ass skills hold up against the rising threats to Ash’s family? More importantly, can Ash convince his ninja girl to screw ethics and kiss him again?
Opposites attract in this YA romance where a smooth talker meets his match in the tough girl who (literally) sweeps him off his feet. Moral of the story:
Sometimes even bad boys need a bodyguard.
And then his guards grabbed me.
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Excerpt
“You’re kidding me, right?” Snow gestured to where Sadie was sitting in the bleachers. She had her camera out, ready to record. “Tall, beautiful, skin the color of cream. She’s basically a curvy dead ringer for Taylor Swift. Or hadn’t you noticed?”
“Sadie’s like my little sister,” I shrugged. “I could never see her that way. Plus, she’s annoying as hell. Definitely not my type.”
“Yeah, right,” she said. “And what might that be?”
“I like smart girls who can kick my ass.”
The bright flush on her cheeks told me she got my meaning. Loud and clear.
I grinned. “Know anyone like that, Snow?”
Instead of answering, she said, “Want to help me with something?”
“Anything,” I said.
She nodded and called the rest of the self-defense kids over. “Alright, guys, today I’m going to teach you how to take an assailant down. This is an important lesson. In case you can’t get away, you should know how to inflict the most damage. Ash has volunteered to be my assistant for this class.” Turning to me, she said, “Ready?”
“Sure,” I said. “What do I need to do?”
“Nothing.” There was an odd gleam in her eyes. “Just keep getting back up.”
“Okay.” She shook her head, a slow smile forming on her lips. “What?” I asked.
“It’s a good thing you like girls who can kick your ass,” she replied.
And then I was flying through the air.
After about the tenth flip, I lost track of how many times my back hit the mat. Sadie laughed the whole time, recording as Snow proceeded to smack me around. The hour seemed to drag on forever. But by the end of it, even though my body was sore, and I felt like shit, I couldn’t help but smile.
“Class dismissed,” Snow said, staring down at me, hands on hips. Her face glowed with perspiration, a line between her brows. “And what are you so happy about?”
“Thought you said you weren’t jealous,” I said back.
“I’m not,” she said, but we both knew she was lying. The way she growled and stomped off just made it that much more obvious.
And that meant I still had a shot. My smile widened.
Excerpt
The song suddenly changed from fast to slow, and she looked around at the other couples who were latching onto each other. The blush was back on her cheeks as she met my eyes.
“What now?” she asked.
If it was possible, the question made me like her even more. Taking her hands, I placed them around my neck and brought my own to her waist. The song gave me an excuse to get close, so I did. Snow was so much smaller than me. I felt like a giant, looking down at her.
“You really thought my song was sappy?” I asked.
“No,” she said. “I liked it.”
“Liked?”
“Hmm.”
“Not loved?”
A pause. “Maybe a little.”
I grinned. “I can handle that.”
She bit her lip to stop herself from smiling, which did strange things to me. Something in my chest leaped; my grip on her waist tightened. It also reminded me that I was still 0-2 on the kissing front. My eyes lingered on her lips.
“Stop it,” she hissed.
“Stop what?” I asked.
“You know what.”
“But I want to kiss you.” I dropped my voice. “God, I want to kiss you, Snow.”
She swallowed. “You can’t. It’s unethical.”
“Screw ethics.”
“Ash, we can’t. You’re my client,” she said as if it should matter. Right now, her being my bodyguard was the last thing on my mind. My thoughts were fully occupied with trying to remember if her lips were as soft as they looked.
I stared into her eyes, watching for the truth. “Don’t you want me to kiss you?”
“That doesn’t matter,” she said, looking down.
“It does,” I said, tilting her face back up. “And you do.”
It was in the way her eyes kept moving back to my lips. It was in the way her pulse jumped as my fingers trailed down her neck. Leaning into her was the only thing I could do. The only thing I wanted to do. I pressed a light kiss to the corner of her mouth.
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