It does in fact distract him, mostly by bringing to mind a suggestive image of what other positions could avoid putting a crick in his neck, like pressing Simon down onto the couch and hovering above him. It's a shockingly powerful image, in the sense that Gregor still does not often think of himself as having power over his chief of security except in a very literal sense. Personal power is something else altogether. Simon on his lap should have a similar tone, but definitely, absolutely does not.

"I have no doubt you could conduct a whole briefing that way, unflappably," he answers, with no such confidence in himself; even now his voice has a subtle hitch to it, and Gregor's hands twist into tight knots at his sides. They want to touch instinctively, but that is ridiculously inappropriate. This is essentially a professional transaction. And he really can't figure out why this set up doesn't bother him at all, when he'd had to submit to Cavilo's desire for possessive marking on a regular basis. He hadn't actually minded that at the time-- in retrospect it's more muddled, confusing, yet there seems to be nothing confusing about this.

He has no idea what the difference is.