What’s in a neck? A whole romance, that’s what!

This guy has been taunting me from billboards all over Western Australia, very hard not to be distracted on the freeway, I have to say.

He’s inspired a steamy Australian outback romance of forbidden love I’m working on.

Sadly I’m having to be put it on the back burner while I complete my current rom-com, but, big sigh, every time I see this guy’s neck I just want to go back and work on it.

Anyone else got a real soft spot for a great neck?

Here’s a sneak peak of what this photo inspired.

Exert from “Sweet Slow Burn”

Aidan looked up and their eyes met over the kid’s heads. She stopped breathing, fell into the depths of him even though there was a world of weeds and path between them. He seemed to almost wince, then switched to a rueful grin as Sasha and Troy clung to him.

Stella spurred herself to action. “Kids, leave Aidan alone. He has to fix the fuses, otherwise no dinner.”
“Can Uncle Aidan stay for dinner?” Stella’s heart rose in her throat at the pleading look on Sasha’s face, the way her little hand circled Aidan’s neck and held on tight.

“Yeah, Mum please?” Troy begged.

Heat prickled Stella’s scalp, spread in waves up and down her spine.

“Oh – no! We’ve only got three chicken kievs.” It came out all wrong, abrupt and mean-spirited. The kids’ eyes reproached her.

Aidan gently untangled himself from two pairs of arms and straightened up. “Mum’s right guys. I’d eat all your kievs in one fell swoop. Glumph, glumph, glumph.”

She caught his profile as he turned towards the fuse box, straight nose, the angle of his jaw and neck strong and lean. The memory of her hot tears wetting his skin skidded into her mind, the smell of soap and musky male, the steel of his arms binding her tight. She hid the stab of longing with a giggle. “Remember we used to say Uncle Aidan had hollow legs?”

God, she sounded almost hysterical didn’t she?