I do not think so. If you have selected part of the image, it is copied simply as a normal image, without any additional information. When pasting it, it is always placed to the top left corner of the visible area. You would have to copy it with an additional free space - that would be possible if you added the top left pixel to the selection (hold SHIFT when selecting to add things to the selection (if it is not a floating selection)), but it seems kind of weird. Maybe the operation you are trying to do can be accomplished by some other method.