I've read Cruisie's early books, and as I recall, a good part of her reputation was built on the fact that her books pushed the (sexual) envelope. Vanilla with chocolate swirls, so to speak. One of her heroines may even have had to decide whether to spit or swallow, as opposed to being pulled off to finish in a more traditional way.

...am not sure what it says about me that I still remember this stuff, a good ten years later.