Do things like +Hunger, +Intrigue, +Forbidden actually matter?

(Marked as spoiler just to be safe.)

I first noticed it in Untameable and thought maybe it was another relationship value system like I'd seen in other books, but that never seemed to be the case. It's now in Dirty Little Secrets and Alpha as well, so is it just a flavor thing for "steamy" books?

(Also TIL that just mentioning the title of a VIP book is enough to get your post removed over in the other sub, lol)