The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty

Oh my goodness. I received the trilogy of the Anne Rice Sleeping Beauty books for Christmas. So now, I've began reading them and they are for lack of a better word. DIRTY. I must admit, I sometimes blush and look around the subway car while I'm reading. I feel as though everyone knows I'm reading something extremely sexual. They probably don't know, but I feel guilty. And why do I feel this way? I mean, I'm on the cusp of being "thirtysomething" and I certainly know enough about sex to make informed decisions and judgments. But I feel like a teen reading a forbidden book. As far as the 1st book itself goes - well it's entirely based around the S&M fetish which (confidentially) isn't my thing. I don't feel as though I need to degrade or humiliate anyone. And I certainly wouldn't want it done to me. To take it one step further, it definitely doesn't 'turn me on'. I ask myself several times over, why are you reading this book still? Well, honestly folks, I do like Ann Rice's writing and there's only 3 books to it. So I figure I should finish it. It will make for fabulous cocktail conversation. So someone please throw a cocktail party?